JOHN   A   LASCO. 


JOHN     A     LASCO 

His  6arli*r  fife  unfr  f abmirs. 


CONTRIBUTION    TO    THE  HISTORY  OF    THE   REFORMATION 
IN  POLAND,    GERMANY,    AND  ENGLAND. 


DR.    HERMANN    DALTON, 

St.  Petersburg, 

AUTHOR  OF  "HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  RUSSIA,"   "TRAVELS 
IN  GREECE  AND  ASIA  MINOR,"  ETC. 


Translated  from  the  German 

BY 

REV.    MAURICE    J.     EVANS,    B.A. 


HODDER    AND     STOUGHTON, 

27,    PATERNOSTER    ROW. 

MDCCCLXXXVI. 

[All  rights  reserved.) 


Printed  by  Hazell,  Watson  &  Viney,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbuff . 


Stack 
Annex 

BK 
350 

U-D33 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


BUT  few  words  of  introduction  are  necessary  in  pre- 
senting the  following  pages  to  the  English  reader. 
The  aim  of  the  learned  author  has  not  been  to  furnish 
a  history  of  the  Reformation,  dealing  mainly  with  names 
and  dates,  such  as  would  be  appropriate  to  a  manual 
of  Church  history,  but  rather  to  exhibit  the  secret 
motives  and  springs  of  action  which  impelled  the  friends 
and  foes  of  the  evangelic  movement  at  its  most  critical 
period.  For  the  decades  over  which  A  Lasco's  reforming 
activity  extends  mark  the  time  of  transition  from  the 
days  of  youthful  conquest  on  the  part  of  the  Reformation 
to  those  sad  years  of  divisions  and  declension  which 
followed. 

Some  of  the  matters  recorded  in  this  volume  have  only 
an  historic  interest  for  us  in  the  present  day.  Many 
differences  that  stirred  the  hearts  of  men  in  those  days 
are  now  happily  consigned  to  oblivion  among  evangelical 
Christians.  Many  other  questions,  however,  which  were 
then  raised  are  still  urgently  pressing  for  solution,  and 
foremost  among  these  that  as  to  the  blending  of  the 
greatest  amount  of  Christian  freedom  with  a  spiritual 
discipline  in  accordance  with  the  Word  of  God.  On  this 
subject  in  particular  the  example  of  A  Lasco  has  still 
much  to  teach. 

From  a  purely  literary  point  of  view,  it  might  appear  a 
disadvantage  that  the  book  has  been  composed  little  by 
little,  at  such  intervals  of  leisure  as  could  be  secured  amidst 


r\  »,> 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


the  absorbing  engagements  of  a  large  city  church.  This 
disadvantage,  however,  is  greatly  outweighed  by  the  con- 
sideration that  the  writer  has,  during  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  given  practical  exemplification  to  the  prin- 
ciples laid  down  by  A  Lasco,  and  that  his  congregation 
is  perhaps  second  to  none  as  respects  Scriptural  order  and 
the  works  of  evangelisation  and  benevolence. 

In  the  English  edition  some  omissions  have  necessarily 
been  made,  more  particularly  as  concerns  the  evidences 
on  which  our  author's  conclusions  rest.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  few  extra  notes  have  been  added,  and  the  year 
of  death  has  been  given  in  connection  with  many  names 
in  the  Index.  The  last  page  and  a  half  of  the  text  was 
likewise  appended  by  the  translator,  by  way  of  explain- 
ing how  Dr.  Dalton's  history  is  here  brought  somewhat 
abruptly  to  a  close. 

Those  who  would  trace  the  influence  of  A  Lasco's 
Church  Order  upon  the  liturgical  writings  of  the  Church 
of  the  Netherlands  may  profitably  consult  the  translation 
of  Dalton's  work  made  by  Rev.  P.  C.  van  Oosterzee,  of 
Enschede,  Holland  (Utrecht:  Kemink  en  Zoon),  where, 
moreover,  the  Latin  text  is  in  many  places  compared  with 
the  old  Dutch  reading  as  given  in  Kuyper. 

May  this  volume  go  forth  on  its  way,  and  be  blessed 
to  the  promotion  of  that  oneness  in  the  truth  for  which 
A  Lasco  himself  so  earnestly  laboured. 

M.  J.  E. 


CONTENTS. 


I. 

JOHN  A  LASCO  AS  A  CATHOLIC  IN  HIS  NA  TIVE  LAND. 

CHAP.  PAGR 

I.  LAND  AND   PEOPLE  OF  HIS   HOME     ....         I 
II.   FAMILY  AND  YOUTH 23 

III.  THE   FIRST  STUDENT  TRAVELS   ABROAD  .  .51 

1.  In  Rome 51 

2.  In  Bologna 60 

IV.  AT  HOME  AGAIN 79 

V.  THE  OTHER   STUDENT  TRAVELS  ABROAD  .  .      92 

1.  The  first  residence  in  Basle       .        .        .        .96 

2.  In  Paris 101 

3.  The  second  residence  in  Basle  .        .        .        .108 

4.  The  return  home  by  way  of  Italy      .        .        -133 

VI.  THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A  CATHOLIC  IN  HIS  NATIVE 

LAND 142 

1.  Trying  experiences  at  home      .        .        .        .142 

2.  Laski's  activity  in  the  ecclesiastical  domain   .  154 

3.  The  severance  from  Church  and  fatherland     .  172 


CONTENTS. 


II. 

JOHN  A    LASCO   AS   A    PROTESTANT  IN   GERMANY 
AND  ENGLAND. 

CHAP.  pAGE 

VII.  ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE 189 

VIII.  AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND  .          .          .221 

1.  The  waiting  time 231 

2.  The  work  with  the  sword  in  the  hand       .        .  249 

3.  The  work  with  the  trowel  in  the  hand       .        .  271 

4.  The   Reformer  in    his    private    life    in    East 

Friesland 302 

5.  The  Interim  in  its  influence  on  Laski's  fate     .  322 

IX.  IN  ENGLAND 351 

1.  First  residence  in  England        .        .        .        -364 

2.  Second  residence  in  England    ....  376 


I. 

JOHN    A     LA  SCO    AS    A     CATHOLIC    IN 
HIS    NATIVE    LAND. 


I. 

LAND  AND  PEOPLE    OF  HIS  HOME. 

A  WIDE  and  painful  distance  now  separates  the 
land  and  people  of  our  hero  from  the  time 
in  which  he  was  himself  living  among  them.  For 
almost  a  century  past  his  people  has  ceased  to  be 
a  nation,  with  its  own  government,  its  native  con- 
stitution. By  its  own  fault,  by  a  cruel  bitter  fate, 
it  had  sunk  so  low  as  to  be  obliged  to  succumb  to 
the  violent  pressure  of  its  neighbours,  to  submit  to 
dismemberment  at  their  hands  and  incorporation 
into  other  States,  alien  indeed,  but  more  firmly  com- 
pacted than  itself.  That  lot  has  already,  in  the  iron 
course  of  history,  overtaken  many  a  nation  which 
has  outlived  itself,  and  has  insensibly  disappeared, 
absorbed  in  the  life  of  the  mighty  conqueror.  With 
tenacious  perseverance  and  touching  love  of  the 
fatherland,  this  people  struggles  against  such  iron 
destiny  ;  it  cannot  yet  bring  itself  to  die,  and  is 
unable  to  forget  what  it  once  was,  in  its  heroic  days. 
Reminding  in  many  a  striking  feature  of  the  people 
of  the  Jews,  who  nowhere  on  earth  have  settled  so 
numerously  and  permanently  as  in  this  land,  its  sons 
wander  hither  and  thither  ;  only  against  their  will 
bearing  the  foreign  yoke  or  eating  the  bread  of 
exile,  and  watching  for  every  intimation  that  may 

i 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


serve  to  quicken  afresh  their  lightly  enkindled  hope. 
It  enters  not  into  our  design  to  measure  the  dis- 
tance between  the  past  and  the  present,  and  to 
trace  out  the  causes  which  have  brought,  and  must 
of  necessity  bring,  this  people  to  such  depth  of 
humiliation  ;  we  have  proposed  to  ourselves  in  the 
following  pages  the  more  attractive  task  of  opening 
the  book  of  Poland's  history  at  the  time  of  its  most 
brilliant  unfolding,  and  of  reading  a  page  which, 
full  of  promise  as  it  is  in  its  commencement,  mani- 
fests so  fatally  at  its  close  the  germ  of  that  sickness 
under  which  the  fair  land  has  pined  almost  to 
death. 

Yes,  it  is  Poland's  heroic  age,  this  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  More  widely  have  its 
frontiers  never  extended  than  under  the  last  power- 
ful rulers  of  the  house  of  the  Jagellons.  Lelewel, 
whose  heart  glows  with  such  ardent  love  for  his 
country,  furnishes  us  among  the  maps  to  his  history 
of  Poland  with  one  of  the  time  of  John  Albert, 
somewhere  about  the  year  1500.  It  is  a  territory 
which  in  the  north  stretches  along  the  coast  from 
Dantsic  to  Memel,  and  then,  in  a  line  running  almost 
direct  east,  touches  the  neighbourhood  of  Dunaburg, 
passes  on  by  Witebsk  to  Smolensk,  for  the  possession 
of  which  Russians  and  Poles  often  contended  in 
those  days,  then  again  in  the  east  bends  deep 
into  the  land  as  far  as  the  Donetz,  and  along 
the  Dnieper  attains  the  Black  Sea  at  Kherson. 
The  sea-coast  forms  as  far  as  Kilia  and  Ismail  the 
greatly  contested  frontier,  which  then  stretches  in- 
land as  far  as  Transylvania  and  along  the  Carpathians, 
including  Moldavia.  Bukovina,  Galicia,  in  the  west, 
as  far  as  the  district  of  Teschen,  then  northwards 


LAND  AND   PEOPLE    OF  HIS  HOME. 


touches  on  Glogau,  thence  to  return  in  a  circuitous 
line  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Dantsic.  The  exten- 
sive domain  is  estimated  at  200,000  square  versts 
(nearly  80,000  square  miles),  with  a  total  population 
of  fifteen  millions.  The  true  parent  land  and  core 
of  the  wide  domain,  in  which  alone  we  move  in 
the  following  pages,  was  composed  of  two  main 
parts  :  the  northern  champaign  land  of  Greater  Poland, 
with  the  erewhile  independent  dukedoms  of  Cujavia 
and  Masovia,  and  the  more  southernly  situated 
Lesser  Poland,  which  extended  to  the  Carpathians. 
The  leading  palatinates  in  Greater  Poland  were 
Posen.  Kalisch,  Sieradz,  Lenczyc  ;  in  Lesser  Poland, 
on  the  other  hand,  Cracow,  Sendomir,  Lublin. 

It  was  a  wise  step  on  the  part  of  Hedwig^  the 
young  Queen  of  Poland,  in  whose  veins  Piastic  blood 
still  flowed,  to  sacrifice  her  inclination  for  Duke 
William  of  Austria  to  the  welfare  of  the  State,  and 
to  give  her  hand  to  the  Lithuanian  prince  Wladislaiv 
Jagiello  (i  386).  With  this  marriage  covenant  Poland 
and  Lithuania  entered  into  the  relation  of  a  personal 
union,  which,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  two  hundred 
years,  terminated,  by  means  of  the  famous  Lublin 
Union  (1569),  in  the  firmly  welding  of  the  two 
lands  into  a  single  indivisible  commonwealth  under 
the  same  ruler  and  with  like  constitution.  With 
Wladislaw,  who  had  before  consented  to  receive 
baptism  in  order  to  be  able  to  wed  the  fair  Hedwig, 
there  ascended  the  throne  that  race  under  which 
Poland  was  led  forward  to  its  highest  summit  of 
prosperity.  It  is  a  kingly  house  of  rare  capacity, 
that  of  these  Jagellons,  gracious  in  its  character, 
fascinating  in  the  power  and  vigour  with  which  its 
members  wielded  the  sceptre,  and  with  which  they 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


were  capable  of  inspiring  their  people,  and  that  not 
seldom  under  the  most  adverse  conditions.  One  of 
those  most  accurately  acquainted  with  the  facts 
aptly  describes  the  Jagellons  as  "  benevolent,  winning, 
generous  to  self-deprivation,  simple,  accessible, 
grateful  and  easily  attached,  good-natured  and 
yielding,  like  men  who  are  guided  more  by  the 
impulses  of  the  heart  than  by  the  hard  rule  of 
abstract  maxims."* 

This  fair  heritage  likewise  pertained  in  its  full 
extent  to  its  last  descendant  but  one,  Sigismund  /., 
who  for  two-and-forty  years  (1506-1548)  gloriously 
bore  the  crown  in  difficult  times.  He  belongs  to 
the  most  prominent  figures  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
of  high  estimation  in  the  council  of  the  regents, 
feared  by  his  enemies,  but  warmly  loved  by  his 
people,  specially  during  the  first  decades  of  his 
reign,  and  so  long  as  the  influence  of  his  second 
consort,  the  intriguing  Queen  Bona  (married  1519), 
did  not  make  itself  too  greatly  felt.  Sigismund  was 
zealous  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  arduous  duties  of  a 
king  of  Poland,  a  faithful,  watchful  guardian  of  his 
land  and  people.  Yet  now  and  then  a  certain  trace 
of  weakness  pervaded  his  actions  ;  the  wish  for 
repose  and  order  led  him  often  to  leave  matters  to 
take  their  own  course  where  a  tighter  grasp  of  the 
rein  was  to  be  desired.  Just  upon  the  point  which  was 
at  that  time  the  most  decisive  of  all,  the  religious 
question,  his  different  measures  are  marked  by  a 
want  of  resolution,  which  could  satisfy  neither  the 
Evangelicals  nor  the  Romish  Church,  and  which  in 
reality  proved  not  for  the  benefit  of  either.  This 
wavering  is  not  to  be  ascribed  alone  to  his  love  of 

*  Caro,  Geschichte  Polcns  (Gotha,  1863  sgq.},  iv.  306. 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.  5 

undisturbed  repose  ;  a  deeper,  nobler  characteristic 
of  his  nature  rendered  decision  difficult  for  him  in 
those  stormy  days.  He  was  a  faithful  son  of  his 
Church;  every  revolt,  therefore,  against  its  ordinances 
seemed  to  him  like  an  attempt  to  shake  the  strongest 
pillars  of  the  State  ;  and  thus  pious  attachment  to 
the  Pope  and  his  own  ardent  patriotism  contributed 
in  equal  degree  to  strengthen  his  endeavour  to  shut 
out  the  dreaded  revolutionary  element  from  his  land. 
In  this  drift  of  his  thoughts,  however,  it  is  easy  to 
discover  an  undercurrent.  Sigismund  is  a  truly 
God-fearing  man.  In  his  letter  to  the  Pope,  as  in 
many  an  edict,  there  breathes  a  tone  not  inspired  by 
State  policy,  one  which,  flowing  straight  from  the 
heart,  bears  noble  testimony  to  his  feelings,  and  the 
more  so  as  this  tone  is  so  greatly  wanting  even  in 
the  pastoral  letters  of  the  bishops  of  those  days. 
For  a  mind  so  constituted  there  must  be  much  to 
astonish  and  repel  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Church 
and  its  dignitaries;  nor  did  he  shrink  from  revolting 
against  these  when  the  ecclesiastical  assumptions  too 
greatly  infringed  upon  his  kingly  rights,  and  the 
papal  authority  would  assert  itself  in  a  province  in 
which  he  felt  himself  called  to  be  the  guardian  of 
the  nation's  sovereignty.  The  times  denied  him  the 
repose  for  meditating  on  the  one  thing  needful  ;  the 
fatal  consequence  was  that  indecision  which  re- 
dounded to  no  blessing  for  his  people. 

Another  element  of  difficulty  was  to  be  found  in 
the  constitution  of  the  land,  as  this  had  gradually 
shaped  itself  out  in  long,  deep-reaching  conflicts. 
Poland  had  become  a  republic  with  a  king  at  its 
head.  The  real  power  lay  in  the  hands  of  the 
nobility,  those  families  which  in  the  struggles  of 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


centuries  had  raised  themselves  most  effectually  o.it 
of  the  rank  and  file  of  citizens  to  a  state  of  in- 
dependence. The  title  to  separation  from  the  other 
classes  of  the  population  was  to  be  found  in  the 
display  of  a  right  to  particular  armorial  bearings,  the 
evidence  of  belonging  to  a  particular  family.  If  this 
proof  was  given,  the  equal  in  lineage  was  acknow- 
ledged upon  a  par  with  all  the  nobles,  and  was 
invested  with  the  like  rights  and  obligations.  True, 
it  could  not  fail  to  come  about,  that  single  families 
and  escutcheons  should  be  particularly  distinguished 
in  the  persons  of  some  prominent  bearers  of  the 
name  and  arms,  and  such  families  thereby  acquired 
for  themselves  the  highest  offices  in  Church  and 
State.  This  higher  class  of  nobility  were  the  barons, 
distinguished  from  the  others  by  birth  or  possessions, 
or  offices  of  pre-eminence.  Certain  offices  likewise 
presupposed  and  conferred  the  dignity  of  a  baron. 
The  highest  ecclesiastical  dignities  were  those  of 
the  two  archbishops  of  the  land  and  the  thirteen 
bishops  ;  the  highest  civil  dignities  were  those  of  the 
thirty-five  Palatines,  the  thirty  greater  Castellans 
of  the  kingdom  (inajores  castellani},  and  forty-nine 
lesser  Castellans  (ininores),  who  likewise,  with  ten 
other  officers  of  state,  formed  the  Senate.* 

As  opposed  to  the  nobility,  there  arose  in  the 
towns  with  the  lapse  of  time  a  new  and  weighty 
element,  of  which  the  princes  often  availed  them- 
selves as  a  means  of  holding  in  check  the  incon- 
veniently powerful  barons.  The  influence  of  these 
citizens  was  at  that  time  one  so  deeply  affecting  the 
history  of  the  Reformation  in  Poland,  that  we  must, 

*  The  order  of  succession  of  these  dignitaries  in  Cromer, 
rolonia  (Colonise,  1594),  p.  529. 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.  ^ 

at  this  early  stage,  direct  attention  to  their  particular 
position.      The    settlers   in    the    tOvvns   were    almost 
exclusively  German  immigrants,   who  had  flowed  in 
unbroken    streams   into  the  country  from   the   time 
when  the  German   impulse  to   emigration,  awakened 
in   the  days  of  the   Crusades,   had    (with  their  con- 
clusion) lost  the  copious  outlet  into  the  hazy  distance 
of  the  far  East.      This  important  element  of  culture 
received    a    friendly    welcome    in    the   wide,    thinly 
populated  territories  of  Poland.    Very  considerable  in- 
dependent powers  were  conferred  upon  the  strangers, 
who  throughout  the  whole  land  founded  cities,  and 
with   German    diligence,  with   German   vigour,  ener- 
getically prosecuted  the  arts  of  trade  and  commerce, 
and  in  the  rapidly  growing  prosperity  of  the   land 
abundantly  rendered   the   tribute  of  their   gratitude 
for  the   rights    of  hospitality  accorded    them.      Yet 
it  was  a  hospitality  granted   with   Polish   liberality, 
one  might  almost  say  recklessness.      These  German 
settlers  had  brought  with  them  from  home  their  own 
laws,  which  were  confirmed  and  guaranteed  to  them 
by  the  Polish  princes.      In    the    northern   towns,  in 
Masovia  and  Cujavia,  we  meet  for  the  most  part  with 
the  Kulm  law ;  in  the  southern  Polish  towns,  extend- 
ing as  far  as  the  Russian  territory,  the  Magdeburg 
law.    In  the  enjoyment  of  such  privileges  these  towns 
lived  a  life  by  themselves  in    the    midst  of  Poland, 
a  part  of  Germany,   and    to   such   an    extent   that, 
e.g.,  the  renowned  book  of  the  guilds  in  Cracow,  the 
admirably  executed  miniatures  of  which  afford  us  a 
lively  picture  of  that  age,  is  composed  in  the  German 
and    Latin    languages.     Such    separate    life  in    the 
midst  of  a   foreign   land   may,   under  some  circum- 
stances, contribute  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


land,  and  in  Poland  really  did  so,  even  as  the 
German  colonies  in  the  interior  of  Russia  have  done; 
for  the  intellectual  life,  however,  of  the  ancestral 
people,  as  also  of  the  foreign  nation  in  the  midst  of 
which  they  dwell,  such  colonists  are  in  the  hour  of 
decision  as  a  mole  upon  the  body  ;  and  such  an 
hour  of  decision  had  then  dawned.  These  German 
towns  in  Poland  were  intellectually  cut  away  from 
the  old  home,  only  guarding  with  scrupulous,  but 
narrow  and  illiberal  fidelity,  the  heritage  they  had 
brought  with  them  ;  they  did  not  live  on  by  con- 
tinuing to  develop  themselves,  but  persisted  in 
stubbornly  maintaining  themselves  at  the  same  intel- 
lectual stage  which  the  old  fatherland  had  attained 
at  the  time  of  their  departure.  Against  their  new 
surroundings,  above  and  below,  they  were  firmly  and 
closely  shut  up  ;  they  lived  side  by  side  with  the 
other  inhabitants,  but  without  inner  contact,  with- 
out blessing-fraught  reciprocal  feeling,  as  in  a 
strongly  entrenched  fortress.  This,  however,  is,  from 
the  national  standpoint,  no  salutary  connection  for 
the  land,  nay,  a  heavy  drag,  when  a  people  in  the 
course  of  its  history  is  placed  in  presence  of  a 
decision  which  it  can  solve  satisfactorily  only  by 
means  of  national  unity.  These  German  citizens 
lived  through  successive  centuries  in  Poland  without 
having  become  Poles  ;  and  they  in  turn  were  not 
everywhere  strong  and  vigorous  enough  to  germanise 
the  whole  land. 

The  third  fragment  of  the  population  was  formed 
by  the  peasants,  the  kmetes,  a  pitiable  class,  almost 
deprived  of  civil  rights,  serfs  to  the  nobility,  and 
living  on,  or  rather  pining  on,  under  a  heavy  load  of 
oppression.  The  distance  between  the  lords  and 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.  q 

these  bondmen  was  so  great  and  so  sharply  defined 
that  one  can  hardly  suppose  the  same  old  Polish 
blood  to  be  flowing  in  the  two  parts  ;  one  is  rather 
reminded  of  the  relation  which  subsists  between  a 
conquering  people  and  the  subjugated  primitive 
races  of  the  land,  such  as  prevails  in  India  and  else- 
where. With  twofold  harshness  and  fatal  effect 
must  this  distance  make  itself  felt  where  the 
corrective  middle  link,  the  inhabitant  of  the  towns, 
assumes  a  position  adverse  to  both  sides.  As  op- 
posed to  the  nobles,  to  whom  in  his  prerogatives  he 
was  as  a  thorn  in  the  eye,  he  shut  himself  rigidly 
apart,  and  on  every  occasion  of  contact  met  with  the 
same  proud  repulse  which  in  the  course  of  time,  and 
specially  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation,  manifested 
itself  with  the  victorious  consciousness  on  the  part 
of  the  nobles  of  being  able  to  break  up  and  reduce 
to  powerlessness  the  prerogatives  of  these  foreign 
settlers.  For  the  peasant,  the  property  of  the 
nobility,  these  townsmen  had  no  heart  nor  any  feel- 
ing of  kinship  :  he  spoke  not  their  language,  he  sang 
not  their  songs,  his  past  was  foreign  to  them,  and 
for  his  sad  lot  they  had  no  compassion.  Such  was 
the  condition  and  reciprocal  feeling  of  the  three 
constituent  parts  of  the  nation,  the  harmonious 
combination  of  which  ever  forms  the  strength  of  a 
people,  but  whose  splitting  up  into  sections  of  neces- 
sity dissipates  the  strongest  force.  The  Reformation 
in  particular,  which  from  its  very  nature  depends 
upon  a  hearty  agreement  of  the  whole  people,  and 
demands  this  for  its  success,  bitterly  experienced  the 
effect  of  such  a  divided  life  and  the  total  diversity  of 
interests  in  the  single  parts. 

But  we  have  not  yet  spoken  of  the  religious  and 


io  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

ecclesiastical   life,  the   other   essential    factor   in   the 
definite  and  peculiar  stamp  and  impress  of  a  people. 

'More  than  half  a  millennium  had  passed  since  the 
Polish  prince  Miecyslaw,  the  fourth  in  the  succession 
of  the  Piasts  (if  we  may  accept  the  testimony  of 
tradition),  sued  for  the  hand  viDubrawka,  daughter  of 
the  Bohemian  duke  Boleslaw,  and,  in  consequence  of 
this  marriage  union  with  the  zealous  Christian  princess, 
underwent  the  rite  of  baptism  (966).  A  part  of 
this,  till  then  heathen,  people  willingly  followed  the 
example  of  their  prince  and  received  the  doctrines  of 
his  first  spiritual  instructor,  Jordan,  although  a  long 
time  elapsed  before  the  last  remains  of  heathendom 
disappeared.  Upon  the  reception  of  baptism  quickly 
followed  the  ecclesiastical  organisation  of  the  land  ; 
Otho  the  Great  helped  to  found  in  Posen  the  first 
Polish  bishopric,  which  was  placed  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  archbishopric  of  Magdeburg. 

The  German  ecclesiastical  influence  felt  at  the  out- 
set was  maintained  in  subsequent  times,  and  indeed 
assumed  ever  greater  proportions.  In  long  well-nigh 
uninterrupted  succession  a  mighty  host  of  monks 
and  priests  out  of  almost  every  province  of  Germany 
pressed  eastward  to  the  Oder,  and  even  more  deeply 
into  the  land,  to  the  Vistula,  and  founded  monas- 
teries and  churches  in  every  part  in  such  great 
abundance  that,  from  the  time  of  the  contact  with 
the  members  of  the  Russian  Church  (begun  in  the 
days  of  the  Jagellons),  the  latter  were  wont  to  call 
the  Catholics  the  people  "  of  German  faith."  With 
simple  trust  the  nation  submitted  to  the  teachings  of 
the  Church,  willingly  received  its  ordinances,  even 
those  which  were  imposed  in  the  form  of  heavy 
burdens  and  obligations.  The  fair  Slavonic  heritage 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME. 


of  a  hearty  piety  was  the  property  also  of  the 
Polish  people.  It  is  not  the  piety  which,  with  sacred 
earnestness,  penetrates  exploringly  into  the  depths  of 
the  Divine  truth,  and  then,  in  prolonged  meditation 
upon  the  one  thing  needful,  holds  fast  to  this  one 
thrice  sacred  object  as  a  precious  acquisition  and 
bliss-giving  possession,  to  be  maintained  against 
every  assault  ;  it  is  the  pious  mind  which  confidingly 
surrenders  itself  to  the  guidance  of  the  priests  and  the 
Church,  willingly,  and  with  but  little  hesitancy,  accept- 
ing the  Church's  doctrine  without  much  examination 
thereof,  and  in  the  prescribed  manner  devoutly  fulfils 
the  Church's  demands  ;  in  God  fears  the  almighty 
Lord,  but  hardly  has  a  conception  of  the  abundant 
grace  of  being  called  by  Christ  to  be  a  disciple,  not 
a  servant.  The  priest  was  for  the  Slav  the  spiritual 
"  lord  "  who  has  authority  over  him,  a  sort  of  vice- 
gerent of  God,  who  regards  the  submissiveness  shown 
to  His  representative  as  homage  done  to  Himself. 

Very  much  of  that  which  was  said  of  the  foreign 
town-population  in  Poland  may  be  repeated  with 
regard  to  this  priesthood,  likewise  alien  in  nationality, 
though  it  may  be  in  the  ecclesiastical  domain  the 
evil  consequences  of  this  diversity  did  not  render 
themselves  so  sharply  and  strikingly  apparent  as  in 
that  of  the  State.  The  Romish  priest  is  himself 
brought  up  without  a  home.  It  is  true  the  impres- 
sions of  youth,  of  the  people  whose  language  has 
become  for  one  a  mother-tongue,  can  never  be 
entirely  obliterated  ;  even  under  the  most  foreign 
cowl  the  home  feeling  with  the  land  of  one's  descent 
still  abides.  It  is  otherwise  here.  Those  who  in  the 
Romish  Church  and  its  Latin  tongue  had  found  a 
second  fatherland  saw  themselves  here  in  Poland 


J2  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


transplanted  to  a  distant  country  ;  no  family  bonds 
facilitated  their  taking  root  in  the  land  ;  the  interest 
was  wanting  to  them  for  coming  into  close  contact 
with  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  people,  of  so 
entering  into  their  peculiar  life  as  not  only  to  live 
among  them,  but  with  them,  and  from  such  common 
social  life  to  draw  the  right  and  qualification 
for  further  developing  the  intellectual  life  of  the 
people  in  its  thinking  and  acting.  Centuries  passed 
by  without  any  national  literature  arising  ;  the 
cause  thereof  in  those  days  is  certainly  to  be  sought 
in  the  foreign  priests,  the  bearers  of  the  culture  of 
that  time.  Their  mother-tongue,  the  Latin,  made 
its  way  into  the  castles  of  the  nobility,  into  the 
houses  of  the  educated  and  refined ;  and  the  first 
intellectual  aspiration  of  the  people  found  expression 
in  this  language.  The  deep  gulf  which  separated 
the  noble,  in  his  almost  boundless  freedom,  from  the 
peasant,  chained  to  the  soil,  would  not  have  opened 
so  widely  if  a  native  clergy,  springing  from  the 
bosom  of  the  people,  had  preserved  the  connection 
of  the  two  parts  of  the  national  whole,  then  almost 
entirely  divorced  from  each  other. 

With  sure  and  firm  step,  the  Church  acquired  from 
generation  to  generation  an  increasingly  powerful, 
increasingly  significant  position  in  the  land.  In  one 
respect  there  was  no  distinction  between  the  different 
social  ranks  :  in  the  devout  subjection  to  the  Church 
and  its  distant  head,  the  vicegerent  of  the  Lord  in 
Rome.  From  the  king  down  to  the  humblest 
peasant,  willing  obedience  was  rendered  to  him  and 
his  underteachers.  To  the  Church  and  its  highest 
dignitaries  in  the  land  there  had  been  conceded  in 
the  course  of  time  important  prerogatives.  The 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.         13 


Archbishop  of  Gnesen,  as  primate  of  the  kingdom, 
occupied  the  place  next  after  the  king,  and  in  the 
event  of  the  king's  death,  presided  over  the  govern- 
ment until  a  new  head  of  the  State  was  chosen. 
The  bishops — we  have  already  directed  attention  to 
this  particular — stood  upon  a  par  with  the  highest 
civil  dignitaries,  yea,  had  the  precedence  of  them  in 
the  Senate.  From  olden  time  the  most  distinguished 
bishoprics,  after  the  archiepiscopal  sees  of  Gnesen 
and  Lemberg,  were — in  Lesser  Poland,  Cracow  ;  in 
Greater  Poland,  Posen  ;  in  Cujavia  and  Pomerania, 
Wladislav  ;  in  Masovia,  Plotzk  ;  in  the  Russian  terri- 
tory, Przemisl  and  Chelm  ;  in  Podolia,  Kamenetz. 
The  nobility  were  in  possession  of  these  spiritual 
dignities.  A  long  warfare  was  waged  by  them  for 
the  exclusive  right  of  possession  ;  and  this  warfare 
had  followed  consistently  from  their  endeavour  to 
bring  all  the  power  of  the  State  within  their  grasp. 

Yet,  with  however  great  fidelity  and  obedience 
the  people  in  all  its  parts  was  attached  to  the 
Romish  Church,  it  nevertheless  early  learned  to 
exercise  toleration  towards  those  in  its  midst  who 
were  not  members  of  that  communion,  and  the  more 
decidedly  to  do  this  in  proportion  as  by  victory  it 
more  and  more  widely  extended  its  frontier.  In  the 
exercise  of  this  Christian  duty,  so  rare  in  those  days,  the 
nation  was  supported  by  the  fine  and  noble  impulses 
of  the  Slavonic  nature,  which  is  not  easily  aroused  to 
religious  fanaticism.  Where  we  come  upon  manifes- 
tations of  that  kind  in  its  midst  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  detect  the  presence  of  foreign  influence, 
by  which  the  nation  was  impelled  to  enter  upon 
paths  it  would  hardly  have  entered  on  of  its  own 
accord.  First  of  all,  the  Poles  were  brought  into 


I4  JOHN  A   L  A  SCO. 


contact  in  this  respect  with  the  Jews.  As  early  as 
the  ninth  century  not  a  few  of  these  went  up  from 
the  Chazar  empire  of  the  Lower  Danube.*  The 
immigration  assumed  larger  proportions  in  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  on  the  side  of  the 
west,  whence,  in  ever-augmented  degree,  the  Jews 
were  expelled  by  Rome  and  the  Romish  Church. 
The  inflow  from  Germany  was  so  great  that 
to  this  day  the  Polish  Jew  has  preserved  the 
German  language  as  the  main  constituent  in  his 
corrupt  jargon.  Trade  and  the  practice  of  usury 
formed  the  principal  means  of  livelihood  with  these 
new-comers.  They  were  not  even  in  Poland 
entirely  spared  the  severe  oppression  to  which  they 
were  everywhere  exposed  under  the  influence  of  the 
Romish  Church,  but  in  Poland  the  pressure  was 
diminished  ;  they  were  not  the  bondmen  of  the 
princes,  as  elsewhere ;  were  only  under  their 
immediate  legal  administration,  and  thus  could  not, 
as  the  other  immigrants  from  Germany,  appeal  to 
the  Magdeburg  law  in  the  case  of  disputes  arising. 
Specially  Casimir  the  Great  stood  forth  for  their  pro- 
tection, even  in  defiance  of  the  severe  measures 
which  had,  under  the  influence  of  the  Dominicans, 
been  enacted  in  the  ecclesiastical  assembly  at  Ofen 
(1279)  against  the  Jews  of  the  Carpathian  lands. 
It  was  not  the  spirit  of  toleration  alone  which 
guided  him  and  a  part  of  his  successors,  particularly 
Sigismund  /.,  in  thus  acting  ;  they  recognised  the 

*  Empire  of  the  Chazars  (or  Khozars).  The  Chazars  were 
an  early  people,  formerly  occupying  territory  between  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  Caspian,  known  to  the  ancients  as  Scythians. 
See  Gregorieffs  Russia  in  Asia.  The  history  of  the  Jewish 
settlements  under  their  sway  is  sketched  by  Dr.  A.  Harkavy 
(Altjtidische  Denkmdler  aus  der  Krt'm}. 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.          15 

trading  instinct  of  this  thrifty  people,  which  unlocked 
the  treasures  of  the  land,  and  whose  amassed  wealth 
often  served  the  kings  themselves  in  good  stead. 
Other  religious  elements,  too,  were  introduced  in  the 
process  of  extending  the  frontiers  of  Poland  :  the 
occupation  of  Podolia  had  incorporated  Tsheremissian 
Tartars  into  the  kingdom,  and  on  the  Lower  Danube 
Mohammedans  belonged  to  Poland  ;  in  Lithuania 
heathen  were  still  to  be  found. 

Apart  from  the  comparatively  few  Armenians 
who,  likewise  by  the  incorporation  of  Podolia,  be- 
came united  to  the  kingdom  of  Poland  without  their 
position  towards  the  Pope  and  the  Church  of  Rome 
being  as  yet  clearly  defined,*  the  most  important 
and  pressing  occasion  for  the  manifestation  of  a 
tolerant  spirit  towards  men  of  other  faith  within  the 
kingdom  was  the  receiving  of  nearly  a  third  part  of 
the  adherents  of  the  Greek  ritual  under  the  sway  of 
the  Polish  king  as  Grand  Duke  of  Lithuania,  which 
was  brought  about  by  the  accession  of  the  Jagellons. 
Heathen  Lithuania  indeed  had  been  led  by  Jagiello 
to  Christianity  and  the  Romish  Church  ;  bordering 
upon  Lithuania,  however,  were  a  series  of  provinces, 
acquired  by  conquest,  whose  inhabitants  had  for 
centuries  been  so  firmly  attached  to  the  Greek  Church, 
that  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Gedimin  had  been 
obliged,  as  a  condition  of  their  sovereignty,  to  go 
over  to  this  Church.  The  metropolis  of  the  Greek 
Church,  Kieff,  was  included  within  the  domain  of 
Lithuania  ;  at  the  baptism  of  Wladislaw  Jagiello  the 

*  Cromer,  p.  500:  "  Armeni  suis  ritibus  suaque  lingua  in 
sacris  utuntur.  Non  abhorrent  ii  tamen,  sicut  accepimus,  a 
romana  ecclesia  et  rom.  pontifice  ;  quin  principatum  ejus  in 
universa  Christi  ecclesia  agnoscunt." 


1 6  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

astonished  Catholics  of  Cracow  beheld  even  Greek 
bishops  in  his  retinue.  By  reason  of  thus  living  side 
by  side  with  those  of  other  faith,  men  in  Poland 
became  accustomed  to  regard  the  belonging  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  as  not  equivalent  to  the  belonging 
to  Christianity,  an  important  advance  for  that  time. 
Owing  to  the  transference  of  the  Metropolitan  of 
Kieff  to  Moscow,  the  desire,  favoured  by  the  prince, 
for  the  formation  of  a  national  Church  of  the  Greeks 
belonging  to  Lithuania  had  gained  considerable 
ground.  At  a  synod  in  the  year  1415,  in  which  the 
Archbishop  of  Polock,  the  Bishops  of  Czernigow, 
Luck,  Wladimir,  Przemisl,  Smolensk,  Chelm,  and 
Turowsk  took  part,  they  selected  (after  the  example 
of  the  Bulgarians  and  Servians)  a  metropolitan  of 
their  own,  Gregory  Zemblack,  and  assigned  to  him 
Kieff  as  his  metropolis.  With  great  interest  and 
even  joy  was  the  incident  followed  in  Rome.  The 
old  rivalry  between  the  two  Churches  was  not  em- 
phasised ;  the  proceedings  at  the  Council  of  Constance 
(1414 — 1418)  and  that  of  Florence  (1437)  display 
a  mutual  friendly  approach.  Although  the  final 
result  did  not  correspond  to  the  expectations 
cherished,  yet  the  attempts  themselves  were  of  the 
greatest  possible  significance  for  the  people  of  Poland 
and  Lithuania,  whence  the  movement  emanated,  and 
the  after-effects  thereof  may  be  traced  in  the  follow- 
ing century  in  many  a  surprising  phenomenon  which, 
without  taking  into  account  these  previous  events, 
would  wear  a  strange  complexion. 

Very  different  was  the  line  of  conduct  towards  the 
almost  contemporaneous  surging  upheaval  in  the 
land  of  a  kindred  race,  Bohemia.  The  fierce  Hussite 
conflicts  cast  their  mighty  waves  as  far  as  Poland  in 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.          17 


the  form  of  countless  fugitives,  who  for  their  faith's 
sake  left  their  native  soil,  torn  up  as  it  was  by  the 
violent  movement,  and  begged  the  rights  of  asylum 
in  a  foreign  land.  The  immense  crowds  of  fugitive 
exiles  who  at  this  time  stood  at  the  erewhile  so 
hospitable  frontiers  of  Poland  and  sought  admission 
appeared  not  in  the  character  of  sons  of  a  powerful 
Church,  at  home  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  its  rights, 
but  as  dangerous  apostates  from  the  same  mother 
Church,  which  in  Poland  still  preserved  its  authority 
unimpaired  ;  as  firebrands  of  a  conflagration  which 
had  well-nigh  consumed  Bohemia  and  was  now  hurling 
its  sparks  into  Poland,  and  here  threatening  the 
Romish  Church  with  the  same  peril.  Against  these 
dangerous  people  one  must  maintain  the  most  re- 
solute defence,  the  most  inexorable  persecution,  even 
for  the  sake  of  one's  own  security  in  Church  and 
State.  The  Church,  with  keen  eye,  had  first  discerned 
the  magnitude  of  the  danger  for  Poland  also.  It 
was  principally  two  men  who  in  those  days  exerted 
the  greatest  influence,  though  by  no  means  a  salutary 
one,  in  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  domain,  and  held 
the  aged  king  (  Wladislaw  Jagiello]  almost  entirely  in 
their  power.  These  were  Zbjgniew  Olesnicki,  Bishop 
of  Cracow,  a  man  of  remorseless  fanatical  zeal,  and 
Stanislas  Ciolek,  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Chancery, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Posen.  It  is  a  sad  picture  which 
Caro  draws  of  these  men,  similar,  as  he  observes,  to 
the  forms  which  over  in  Italy  were  wont  at  that  time 
to  relate  their  lewd  histories  to  Boccacio  in  the 
refectory  of  the  Augustin  monastery  of  San  Spirito 
at  Florence.  At  a  provincial  synod  at  Leczyc  the 
measures  to  be  adopted  against  the  Hussite  heresy 
were  soon  resolved  on  ;  an  assembly  of  the  nobility, 

2 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


which  shortly  followed,  accepted  a  project  of  law 
drawn  up  by  Ciolek,  to  which  it  would  not  be  difficult 
to  secure  the  royal  assent. 

It  is  a  harsh  language,  till  then  unfamiliar  to 
Polish  ears,  when  it  runs  in  this  edict,  "  After 
mature  deliberation,  and  with  consent  of  our  prelates, 
princes,  and  barons,  we  determine,  and  declare,  more- 
over, that  we  wish  it  to  be  held  as  a  fixed,  abiding, 
and  unalterable  decree,  that  in  our  kingdom  of 
Poland,  and  in  all  the  lands  subject  to  us,  every  heretic, 
or  every  one  tainted  with  heretical  doctrines,  or 
suspected  thereof,  and  in  like  manner  every  one  who 
is  an  abettor  of  heretics,  shall,  by  our  captains  and 
officers  throughout  the  land,  be  seized  as  a  traitor 
and  punished  according  to  requirement.  All  persons 
who  enter  our  kingdom  from  Bohemia  shall  be 
arrested,  and  subjected  to  an  examination  concerning 
heretical  teachers  on  the  part  of  those  deputed  there- 
to by  the  Apostolic  see.  Every  Pole,  whosoever  he 
may  be,  that  shall  not  have  returned  out  of  Bohemia 
before  Ascension  Day  next  (1424)  shall  be  looked 
upon  as  a  convicted  heretic,  and  be  liable  to  the 
punishments  appointed  for  heretics.  All  his  goods 
and  chattels  fall  to  the  State  treasury,  his  male  and 
female  descendants  forfeit  their  right  of  heirship  and 
their  rank,  and  his  family  is  declared  infamous  and 
deprived  of  all  the  privileges  of  the  nobility."  * 

Inexorable  as  sounded  the  language,  and  terrible 
as  the  punishments  threatened  against  the  Hussite 
heresies,  they  did  not  prove  altogether  successful. 
The  sacred  power  of  the  Gospel  everywhere  calls 
forth  the  spirit  of  freedom,  in  such  wise  that  it  can 

*  Kautz,  Pr&cifiua  ac  publica  rel.  evang.  in  Polonia  fata 
(Hamburg,  1738),  p.  7. 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.         19 

neither  be  repressed  by  the  severest  Draconian  edicts 
nor  can  ever  suffer  its  confessors  to  sink  so  deeply 
as  to  be  capable  of  acting  against  conscience.  The 
Hussite  movement  had  touched  the  soul  of  the 
Slavonic  people  ;  there  was  in  it  an  element  which 
found  a  response  in  the  whole  race.  The  eloquent 
burning  language  of  the  Bohemian  preacher  in  the 
Bethlehem  Chapel  of  Prague  had  fearlessly  laid  bare 
gross  abuses  in  the  Romish  Church  ;  with  an  appeal 
to  Scripture,  Hits  and  his  successors  drew  attention 
to  the  almost  forgotten  truth  of  the  Gospel,  a  cock- 
crowing  of  the  early  dawn,  while  Hus  was  himself 
still  devoted  in  pious  fidelity  to  the  Romish  Church. 
The  Bohemian  and  Polish  nobles  at  Constance 
sought  to  protect  him  as  a  popular  hero  of  kindred 
race  with  them  both  ;  *  the  flames  of  his  stake  shone 
with  piercing  light  into  the  soul  of  both  nations, 
awakening  in  the  first  instance  a  sense  of  scandal  and 
perplexed  astonishment  with  regard  to  a  mother 
Church  which  could  deal  thus  with  such  a  son,  but 
in  its  wider  progress  enkindling  in  single  souls  the 
earnest  purpose  of  testing  the  doings  of  the  Church 
and  the  demands  of  the  martyr  by  the  standard  of 
Holy  Scripture.  From  this  time  we  meet  with 
slighter  or  more  perceptible  traces  of  Hussite 
activity  in  the  land.  In  Lithuania  they  were  for 
the  most  part  political  considerations  which  led  the 
Grand  Duke  Witold,  this  towering  colossal  form  of 
the  Slavonic  national  spirit,  to  look  upon  the  move- 

*  Krasinski,  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Reformation  in 
Poland  (London,  1838),  i.  63,  where,  moreover,  the  following 
passage  is  adduced  from  a  letter  of  Hus  in  his  prison  : 
"  Poloni  tamquam  strenues  defensores  veritatis  Dei  opponerunt 
[opposuerunt]  se  saepius  toti  concilio  pro  liberatione  mea.  D. 
Wenceslaus  de  Leszna  intrepidus  et  zelosus  defensor." 


20  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

ment  with  favourable  eyes.  We  are  told  of  a  judge 
in  Posen  who  afforded  the  rights  of  hospitality  in  his 
house  to  fugitive  Bohemian  preachers  ;*  the  names  of 
a  series  of  Polish  barons  in  high  position,  at  their 
head  the  mighty  vayvode  Ostrorog^  have  been 
preserved  to  us  as  openly  favouring  the  movement. 
Nay,  the  imperious  Sbigneus  was  obliged  to  threaten 
with  excommunication  the  old  king  Wladislawjagiello, 
now  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  who,  in  consequence  of 
his  natural  kindliness  of  disposition  and  of  his  great 
age,  had  grown  somewhat  remiss,  for  having  received 
Hussites  into  Kazimiertz,  the  suburb  of  Cracow,  in 
order  that  they  might  not  be  deprived  of  religious 
services  during  the  Easter-time  of  1431,  when  the 
fanatical  Bishop  had  laid  the  capital  under  an 
interdict.  During  the  whole  century  we  can  see  the 
Hussite  movement  running  through  like  a  scarlet 
thread,  perceptible  now  here,  now  there.  It  essen- 
tially contributed  to  set  men  in  larger  numbers 
examining  the  life  and  doings  of  the  clergy,  and 
comparing  these  with  the  walk  of  those  men  who 
forsook  their  native  land  for  the  truth's  sake,  and 
were  minded  to  live  a  moral  life  in  the  following  of 
their  Lord. 

Only  in  faint  outline  have  we  described  the  signs 
which  slowly,  as  the  appearing  of  the  daybreak 
towards  the  month  of  May  in  the  far  north,  for 

*  Salig,    Vollst.    Historic  der  Augsburger    Konfession 
(Halle,  1730),  ii.,  p.  524. 

t  At  the  National  Diet  of  1459  this  gifted  and  distinguished 
man  gave  expression  to  his  opinion  regarding  the  ecclesiastical 
and  political  relations  of  his  native  land,  afterwards  publishing 
the  same  in  a  special  work,  "  Pro  reipublicae  ordinatione,"  a 
tractate  full  of  profound  thoughts  on  the  relation  between 
Church  and  State.  Compare  the  full  account  in  Krasinski.  i 
94- 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE   OF  HIS  HOME.         21 

Poland  too  proclaimed  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  in 
the  religious  life  of  the  Christian  peoples.  Only 
solitary  notes  of  contemporaries  penetrate  to  us  like 
prophet  voices.  This  is  explicable.  The  people  in 
the  lower  strata,  held  down  in  ignorance  and  slavish 
dependence,  lived  on  in  silence,  hardly  betraying  in 
national  song  the  breathing  of  an  intellectual  life  ; 
in  the  upper  strata  the  first  modest  endeavours  after 
an  independent  national  literature  were  only  begin- 
ning to  appear.  Those  who  wielded  the  pen  in  the 
Latin  language,  a  tongue  foreign  to  the  nation  at 
large,  were  for  the  most  part  devoted  servants  of 
their  Church,  and  accordingly  wrote  under  its  eye 
and  as  animated  by  its  spirit.  If  nevertheless  in- 
convenient statements  about  the  grievous  apostasy 
were  heard  from  the  mouth  of  those  who  had  re- 
nounced the  degenerate  mother  Church,  the  retrograde 
movement  which  set  in  during  the  following  centuries, 
with  a  keen  scent  for  heresy,  was  busily  engaged 
in  stifling  the  obnoxious  note.  Only  here  and 
there  has  such  unfavourable  report,  hidden  away  in 
some  fortunate  hour  in  a  remote  library,  escaped 
the  vigilance  of  the  Jesuits,  now  first  to  come  forth 
in  other  and  more  favourable  times,  out  of  its  long 
resting-place,  to  the  broad  light  of  day.  However 
sparse  and  fragmentary  the  notices  hitherto  made 
public,  they  yet  suffice  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
fact  that  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  in 
Poland  also  found  ready  to  hand  the  heritage,  every- 
where abundantly  amassed,  of  the  Middle  Ages,  in 
the  urgent  need,  nay,  the  absolute  necessity,  for  a 
reformation  of  the  Church  in  its  head  and  its 
members.  It  is  true  Poland  presented  in  its  peculiar 
relations,  as  above  indicated,  special  and  very  difficult 


22  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

problems  for  solution  ;  but  it  would  be  false  to 
speak  of  these  difficulties  as  insuperable.  For  who 
can  forbid  the  Spirit  of  God  to  breathe  where  He 
will  ?  who  is  able  to  assign  a  limit  to  His  action  ? 

In  all  the  lands  of  the  Reformation  we  see  that 
it  has  been  men  richly  endowed  with  grace  whom 
the  Lord  of  the  Church  has  called  to  enter  upon 
the  heritage  received.  Like  victorious  leaders  of 
armies,  they  have  brought  in  the  hosts  of  the  be- 
lievers to  the  sanctuary  of  God's  word,  and  shown 
them  therein,  as  the  most  precious  treasure  of  the 
Reformation,  the  alone  salvation  in  the  grace  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ.  Has  such  an  one  been  want- 
ing to  Poland  ?  Has  there  arisen  among  its  manly 
sons  no  hero  ready  to  respond  to  the  call  of  the 
Lord,  "  Here  am  I  ;  send  me  "  ? 


II. 

FAMILY  AND  YOUTH. 

AT  Petrikow  we  quit  the  track  of  the  railway 
which  in  the  present  day  connects  the  old 
capital  of  Masovia,  Warsaw,  with  Vienna.  Not 
without  an  effort  do  we  withstand  the  attraction  to 
pay  a  visit  to  a  town  so  rich  in  historic  reminis- 
cences, within  whose  walls  more  than  one  fascinating 
page  in  the  history  of  Poland  has  been  written  ;  for 
here  during  the  bloom-time  of  the  Jagellons  most  of 
the  national  diets  held  their  sittings,  often  of  so  stormy 
a  character,  of  so  great  import  for  the  whole  of 
Europe.  Another  task  impels  us  into  the  interior  of 
the  land.  We  mount  the  open  carriage  standing  ready 
at  the  railway  station,  and  are  quickly  rolling  on  our 
way,  behind  our  cheery  team,  towards  the  interior, 
bound  for  the  out-of-the  way  town  of  Lask,  a  distance 
of  some  six  German  miles  (twenty-five  to  thirty 
English  miles).  Through  the  midst  of  truly  Polish 
scenery  speeds  the  carriage.  The  far-reaching  un- 
dulating plain  is  a  well-cultivated  and  fertile  district ; 
here  and  there  at  the  verge  of  the  horizon  is  descried 
a  slight  extent  of  forest,  but  a  forest  ever  receding 
farther  before  the  ploughshare,  from  which  the  colon  it. 
hopes  to  obtain  more  abundant  returns  out  of  the  soil 
We  meet  with  but  few  inhabitants ;  rarely  does  the 


24  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


road  pass  through  any  village.  One's  thoughts  can 
take  their  flight  undisturbed  ;  during  this  journey 
they  wander  back  a  few  centuries,  and  try  to  fit  for 
a  moment  the  bygone  days  within  the  existing  frame. 
At  that  time  the  district,  now  so  smiling  in  the  sun- 
shine of  July,  and  kept  in  order  with  diligent  hand, 
wore  a  very  different  aspect.  Then  the  woodland  still 
prevailed  over  the  greater  part  of  the  country,  and 
that  in  an  almost  unchecked  primitive  wildness  hardly 
accessible  to  the  bold  hunter,  who,  however,  saw 
his  courage  in  the  dark  forests  rewarded  by  a  heart- 
gladdening  spoil  of  many  a  choice  head  of  game, 
such  as  has  long  ago  disappeared.  In  the  abundant 
forest  tarns  the  wild  swine  made  their  home  in 
great  numbers.  Along  the  fringe  of  the  heathland 
wandered  the  bear,  and  refreshed  itself  with  the 
wild  honey  which  dropped  in  enticing  plenty  from 
the  stems  of  the  trees.  On  the  poor,  roughly  culti- 
vated arable  land  one  came  here  and  there  upon 
settlements,  wretched  huts,  hardly  more  than  cabins, 
built  of  mud  and  covered  with  straw,  in  which  the 
kmete,  oppressed  with  heavy  burdens  and  enforced 
labours,  passed  his  sad  existence,  timid  and  sub- 
missive to  his  lord,  by  whom  he  was  often  held  in 
less  estimation  than  the  precious  beaver  whose 
building  he  had  carefully  to  protect  or  the  falcon 
cherished  for  the  master's  sport. 

These  are  for  us  children  of  the  nineteenth  century 
gloomy  pictures,  on  which  our  eye  does  not  care  to 
rest.  Shortly  before  one  comes  to  Lask,  the  ground 
resembles  the  landscape  of  the  Dunes,  but  with  the 
difference  that  the  refreshing  glimpse  of  the  sea  is 
wanting  :  sand-hills,  with  only  a  scanty  growth  upon 
them,  run  far  into  the  cultivated  land.  We  now 


FA  MIL  Y  A  ND    YO  UTH.  25 

enter  the  little  borough,  whose  unpretending  appear- 
ance leads  us  to  ask  by  what  right  it  claims  to  be  a 
town.  Nothing  there  can  rivet  the  attention  of  the 
ordinary  traveller  :  the  same  few  broad  streets  as 
anywhere  else  in  Poland  ;  properly  speaking,  only  the 
highway,  which  at  this  place  is  flanked  on  either  side 
by  little  unattractive  houses,  but  in  two  places  opens 
out  into  great  wide  squares.  The  one  is  that  of  the 
Market,  made  of  considerable  extent,  in  order  on 
particular  days  to  harbour,  as  it  were,  a  second  popu- 
lation of  the  little  town  in  the  shape  of  men  and 
cattle,  which  pour  in  out  of  the  country  from  afar 
to  buy  and  sell  that  which  is  necessary  for  the  sus- 
taining of  rustic  life,  but  at  other  times  a  desolate 
monotonous  level,  on  rainy  days  unspeakably  dirty, 
and  just  as  unspeakably  dusty  in  the  hot  summer 
weather.  The  dreary  place  has  nothing  to  say  to 
us,  bent  as  we  are  on  a  search  after  ancient  historic 
reminiscences.  So  much  greater,  however,  is  our 
interest  in  the  other.  It  is  the  Church  Square. 

A  hurried  examination  of  the  documentary  records 
in  the  parish  church  *  having  proved  unavailing, 
there  remained  yet  one  more  visit  to  be  paid  in 
Lask,  thus  to  come  perchance  upon  ancient  traces 
of  our  hero. 

Only  with  difficulty  did  we  find  out  a  Jew,  of 
whom,  it  need  not  be  said,  there  are  very  many  in  the 
Polish  country  town,  who  recalled  to  mind  from  the 
time  of  his  long-past  boyish  days  the  remains  of 


*  The  armorial  bearings  of  the  Laski  family  are  still  to  be 
discovered  built  into  the  masonry  of  the  outer  wall  of  the 
Church.  The  escutcheon  Korab,  representing  a  mediaeval 
ship  with  lofty  poop,  bearing  as  cargo  a  sort  of  watchtower,  is 
in  this  instance  surmounted  by  the  mitre  of  the  archbishop. 


26  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

an  old  castle  in  the  neighbourhood.  Out  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  town,  we  succeeded,  with  his  help,  in 
discovering  the  spot.  Surrounded  by  ploughed  land, 
there  is  seen,  in  a  poor  neglected  combination  of 
orchard  and  kitchen-garden,  a  very  ancient  row  of 
trees,  which  gives  the  impression  of  having  been  a 
former  avenue  to  a  large  park.  The  original  road 
is  overgrown  with  brushwood  and  rank  grass.  Not 
far  removed  from  it  stands  an  ancient  wall,  now 
serving  as  a  convenient  solid  background  of  a  store- 
room for  potatoes  and  field  fruits  during  the  winter. 
The  masonry,  thirteen  cubits  long,  four  cubits  high,* 
is  built  up  of  great  stones,  and  forms  a  substructure 
which  may  at  one  time  have  supported  an  imposing 
building,  but  constitutes  to-day  the  only  melancholy 
remains  of  the  ancestral  castle  of  the  once  so  power- 
ful baronial  family  of  the  Laskis.  No  one  in  the 
little  town  now  knew  anything  of  the  family  ;  the 
very  name  would  have  died  away  and  been  forgotten 
had  not  the  town  itself  retained  it.  It  is  a  painful 
impression.  Let  us  seek  to  banish  it  by  the  story  of 
a  renowned  member  of  the  family,  as  this  has  been 
put  together  by  us  from  sources  widely  removed, 
and  often  of  exceeding  scanty  outflow. 

Far  away  up  there,  where  all  objects  are  lost  in 
the  hazy  blue  of  the  distance,  tradition  places  the 
origin  of  the  Laski  family.  We  surrendered  our- 
selves for  a  moment  to  its  guidance  ;  but  whenever 
we  sought  to  follow  up  an  indication,  specially  when 
it  pointed  with  great  decidedness  to  England  as  the 
cradle  of  the  race,  we  invariably  returned  after  a 
while  undeceived.  That  which  is  furnished  by  the 

*  Thirty  feet  by  a  little  over  nine  feet.— TR. 


FA  MIL  Y  A  ND    YO  UTH.  2  7 

unreliable  Damalewicz,*  in  the  driest  chronicler's 
style,  is  wanting  in  all  historic  support.  The 
Catholic  narrator,  belonging  to  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury— it  is  true,  without  mention  of  his  authorities — 
makes  the  founder  of  the  house,  Indelbertus  Laski, 
come  over  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  coasts  out  of  Nor- 
mandy with  William  the  Conqueror,  and  receive,  as 
the  prize  of  his  heroic  valour  at  the  Battle  of 
Hastings  (1066),  Pomfret  Castle  and  the  territory 
of  Blackburnshire.  His  grandson,  Henry,  is  made 
by  the  same  fabling  chronicler  founder  of  the  abbey 
of  Christal.  A  later  descendant,  Albert  Laski — thus 
prattles  this  gossiping  authority — Baron  of  Haulton 
and  Constable  of  Chester,  had  to  leave  England 
because  he  accused  King  John  of  the  murder  of  his 
royal  nephew.  The  fugitive  wandered  to  Poland, 
where  he  was  received  with  open  arms  by  the  coura- 
geous and  enterprising  Bolcslaw  Krzywousty.^  Like 
his  ancestor  in  England,  the  new-comer  so  greatly 
distinguished  himself  by  valour  that  he  was  rewarded 
with  large  possessions  in  the  land  of  his  adoption. 
His  grandson,  Robert,  is  already  spoken  of  as 
Castellan  of  Sieradz,  one  of  the  highest  posts  in  the 
land,  whose  occupant  for  the  time  being  had  to 
administer  the  rights  of  the  king  within  the  said 
territory.  Here  in  Poland — so  Damalewicz  tells  us — 

*  The  relation,  as  yet  unprinted,  will  be  found  in  the  collec- 
tion of  MSS.  in  the  Imperial  Library  at  St.  Petersburg  (Q.  I.r 
No.  47) :  Stephen  Damalewicz,  Historia  imaginis  B.  V.M. 
miraculosce,  in  opfiido  Lasko  in  Palatinatu  Siradiensi  in 
Polonia  (1663). 

t  John  Lackland  is  believed  to  have  put  to  death  the  unfor- 
tunate Arthur  about  1203,  whereas  Boleslaw  Krzywousty  died 
as  early  as  1139  ;  and  the  MS.  itself  even  further  relates  that 
Robert  Laski  was  already  Palatine  of  Siradia  in  1081,  and 
that  his  son  Robert  was  Bishop  of  Cracow  in  1143  ! 


28  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

the  original  escutcheon  was  accordingly  altered. 
From  its  Norman  home  the  family  had  brought  with 
it  to  England  the  heraldic  device  of  a  lion  ;  this 
henceforth  gave  place  to  the  "  ship,"  on  which  the 
ancestor,  fleeing  from  England,  had  made  his  fortune- 
bringing  voyage  to  the  hospitable  shores  of  Poland. 

These  nebulous  forms  of  legendary  ancestors  dis- 
appear in  the  daylight  of  well-authenticated  docu- 
ments. In  these  there  emerges,  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  as  the  first  of  the  family,  John,  called,  on 
account  of  his  bodily  stature,  "  the  Little,"  Bishop  of 
Cracow,  who  died  in  1392,  after  many  afflictions, 
patiently  endured.*  The  Bishop  is  renowned  as  a 
great  and  learned  man  ;  he  was  distinguished  not 
only  for  considerable  theological  attainments,  but 
also  as  an  eminent  physician,  highly  esteemed  as 
such  by  his  king,  Lewis,  and  his  see  had  to  boast  of 
many  advantages  received  at  his  hand.  His  brother 
Albert  outlived  him  by  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The 
latter  was  lord  of  the  manor  of  Lask  and  Krowicz, 
from  1391  till  his  death  in  1417  Castellan  of 
Leczyc  (Ladensis).f  He  died  in  his  strong  castle  of 
Smarszew  ;  his  son  interred  him  in  the  family  vault 
at  the  church  of  the  Minorites  in  Kalisch.  He 
married  Catharine,  the  titled  daughter  of  the  Standard- 
bearer  of  Sieradz  ;  the  high  dignity  of  the  father-in- 
law  descended  to  his  son  John  (1393 — 1451).  As 
such,  John  Laski  had  to  carry  in  battle  the  banner  of 
this  palatinate,  a  perilous  post  of  honour,  as  the  brave 

*  Pomniki Dziejowe  Polski  (Lwow,  1878),  iii.  264,  371. 
;  So  according  to  the  MS.  which  lies  before  me  :  "Genea- 
logia  familiae  Laski  de  stemmate  Korab,  oriundee  ex  oppido 
Lask  in  antique  Palatinatu  Siradiensi  sito,  titulo  comitum  in 
eodem  Lask  condecoratae,  conquisita  et  extracta  ex  actis 
terrestribus  et  castrensibus." 


FA  MIL  Y  A  ND    YO  UTH.  29 

man  may  often  have  experienced  in  the  troublous 
days  of  Wladislaw  III.  and  Casimir.  In  his  time 
the  village  lying  adjacent  to  the  ancestral  seat  of 
Lask  was  transformed  into  a  town  (1422).  After 
the  death  of  his  wife  Anne  (1448),  the  robust  and 
devout  hero,  already  well  on  in  the  fifties,  undertook 
a  journey  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  As  miles  Jerosoli- 
mitanus,  he  returned  home.  On  his  way  back  he  fell 
sick  in  Nicomedia  and  lost  his  eyesight.  Blind,  they 
brought  him  back  once  more  to  Lask,  where  he  soon 
after  died  ;  his  four  sons,  Andrew,  John,  Matthias, 
and  Peregrinus,  interred  the  father  in  the  church  at 
Lask  (145  i ). 

Before  the  father  had  entered  upon  his  pilgrimage 
he  had  betrothed  his  son  Andrew  to  Barbara,  of  the 
noble  house  of  Rembieszow  (Randyeszow).  Besides 
two  daughters,  of  whom  only  faint  traces,  hardly 
more  than  conjectures,  have  come  down  to  us,  there 
sprang  from  this  marriage  four  sons.  The  eldest, 
named  after  his  father,  Andrew,  was  Gustos  of 
Gnesen,  Cracow,  and  Cujavia,  and  held  a  canonicate 
in  Posen.  When  he  died,  in  1512,  he  was  interred 
by  his  brother  in  the  cathedral  church  of  Gnesen. 
This  his  brother  John,  born  in  1456  at  the  family 
seat  of  Lask,  attained  to  the  highest  spiritual  dignity 
in  Poland,  and  died  Archbishop  of  Gnesen  1531. 
We  shall  often  in  the  sequel  have  occasion  to  return 
to  him.  Of  the  youngest  brother,  Michael^  who 
seems  to  have  died  early,  there  is  nothing  to  relate. 
For  us  his  elder  brother  Jaroslaw,  the  father  of  our 
hero,  occupies  the  foreground.  He  was  lord  of  the 
manor  at  Lask.  From  1492  to  1506,  we  find  him 
Tribune  of  Sieradz,  upon  which  office  his  younger 
brother  entered  when  he  himself  became  Palatine  of 


3o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Leczyc.  Eleven  years  later  he  was  Palatine  of 
Sieradz,  in  the  possession  of  which  dignity  he  died 
in  1523.  As  Palatine  or  Vayvode,  he  was  leader  of 
the  troops  of  his  hundred  in  war  ;  in  time  of  peace 
he  called  the  provincial  council  of  the  nobility  to- 
gether, in  which  assemblies  he  held  the  position  of 
president  and  gave  judgment.  He  had  to  fix  the 
price  of  merchandise,  and  there  was  committed  to 
him  the  oversight  of  weights  and  measures.  The 
Jews  of  the  district  were  placed  under  his  protection.* 
Our  highly  distinguished  vayvode  (that  of  Sieradz 
occupied  in  the  Senate  the  seventh  place  in  order 
among  the  thirty-one  palatines  of  the  land)  had  been 
espoused  since  1493  to  Susanna  of  Bakova-Gora,  of 
the  family  Novina  or  Ptomicnczyk.f  The  married 
pair  resided  for  the  most  part  at  the  ancestral  castle 
in  Lask,  where  also  most  of  the  children  were  born. 
Three  sons  and  four  daughters  sprang  from  this 
union.  The  traces  of  the  daughters  are  almost  lost; 
in  the  evening  of  the  life  of  our  Johannes  we  see 
some  nephews  greeting  the  uncle  upon  his  return  to 
Poland.  Of  the  second  of  the  three  sons  our  narra- 
tive treats. 

John  a  Lasco  beheld  the  light  of  the  world  in  the 
fortress  of  his  father's  family,  probably  about  the 
year  1499.  Here,  in  the  finely  situated  castle,  the 
boy  spent  his  childhood  in  the  society  of  his  parents 
and  the  companionship  of  his  brothers  and  sisters. 
In  great  fear  and  reverence  of  the  father  and  mother 
were  the  Polish  children  of  those  days  brought  up. 
It  was  looked  upon  as  a  distinction  to  be  allowed  to 

*  Cromer,  p.  507.  t  Acta  Cap.  Gnesn.,  i.  49. 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  31 

remain  a  considerable  time  with  the  parents  ;  ordi- 
narily the  children  in  such  great  houses  were  con- 
signed to  their  own  rooms  and  to  the  care  of 
attendants  or  tutors.  Not  rarely  might  one  see 
upon  the  landed  estates,  besides  the  nobleman's 
mansion,  the  proper  family  seat,  likewise  a  separate 
edifice  which  served  as  a  domicile  for  the  children, 
and  from  which  they  came,  as  it  were,  on  a  visit  to 
their  parents. 

The  first  years  of  life  the  children  may  have 
passed  in  quiet,  amidst  the  fresh  and  invigorating 
country  life.  Even  though  a  noisy  and  uproarious 
mirth  may  have  prevailed  in  the  nobleman's  house, 
taking  into  account  the  hospitality  of  the  land,  the 
manifold  forms  of  dissipation,  and  the  exalted 
position  occupied  by  the  head  of  the  family,  yet 
but  little  of  this  turmoil  penetrated  into  the  apart- 
ments of  the  children,  who  were  kept  far  away  from 
the  din  and  distraction  of  social  life.  The  education 
of  the  family  began  early.  In  the  towns  there  were 
schools,  or  the  growing  lads  were  sent  to  the  nearest 
cloister-school  ;  the  wealthy  noble  took  into  his 
house  a  young  priest  or  tutor,  to  whom  the  whole 
training  was  then  committed.  The  education  of 
youth  of  noble  birth  was  a  careful  one  in  those  days. 
Much  diligence  in  particular  was  applied  to  the 
acquiring  of  the  Latin  language,  the  boys  and 
girls  taking  part  together  ;  and  both  sexes  acquired 
so  great  a  degree  of  proficiency  therein,  that  they 
employed,  in  oral  and  written  intercourse,  this  foreign 
language,  which  was  even  more  homely  and  familiar 
to  them  than  the  sound  of  their  mother-tongue. 

Seldom  did  the  children  while  they  were  young 
go  beyond  the  limits  of  their  parents'  castle.  They 


32  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


lived  there  in  their  world  apart,  coming  rarely  in 
contact  with  people  outside.  The  road  to  the 
church,  when  they  became  of  age  to  accompany 
their  friends  thither,  first  brought  them  into  the  little 
town  and  past  the  dwellings  of  strangers.  Then  fell 
for  them  too  the  drawbridge  of  the  castle  gate  ;  and 
beyond  the  rampart  and  moat,  which  protected  their 
parents'  castle  against  any  sudden  assault,  they 
went  forth  into  the  outside  world.  With  a  moat, 
the  little  town  was,  like  the  castle,  guarded  against 
attack.  On  their  way  to  church  the  children  had 
early  opportunity  of  seeing  the  poverty-stricken 
condition  of  the  inhabitants,  who  came  out  of  their 
miserable  huts  when  the  sons  of  their  lords  passed 
by  from  the  castle,  and  saluted  them  in  deep  sub- 
jection. Here  it  was  the  poor  timid  kmetes,  or 
peasants,  who,  without  proprietary  rights  of  land  and 
soil,  yet  with  a  sort  of  hereditary  title  to  their  farms, 
were  bound  to  yield  rent  and  military  service  to 
their  feudal  lord  ;  there  the  bondmen  of  the  estate, 
living  in  a  still  more  abject  condition,  small  crafts- 
men and  servants,  who  must  always  be  at  the 
master's  call  as  brewers,  bakers,  turners,  brick- 
makers,  keepers,  attendants  on  dogs  and  horses,  etc., 
and  otherwise  had  to  render  him  a  heavy  tribute. 

From  among  the  miserable  cabins  of  earth  or 
wood  in  the  little  town,  the  stone  church  rose  in 
splendour,  an  object  of  almost  astonishing  adorn- 
ment amidst  the  indigent  surroundings,  yea  even 
surpassing  in  its  outward  appearance  the  house  of 
the  nobleman  itself.  It  could  not  fail  to  produce  an 
early  and  abiding  impression  upon  the  susceptible 
minds  of  the  children  when  they  observed  how 
highly  the  sanctuary  of  the  house  of  God  was 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  33 

esteemed,  with  what  self-denying  solicitude  the 
family  was  intent  upon  the  embellishment  of  the 
church. 

The  grandfather,  Andreiv — so  it  was  related  to  the 
eagerly  listening  children — had  more  than  half  a 
century  ago  devoted  a  stone  church  to  St.  Anne, 
upon  the  spot  where  a  poor  little  building  dedicated 
to  St.  Michael  had  stood  before.  His  son,  their 
uncle  John,  was  at  that  very  time  lavishing  yet 
greater  sacrifices  and  wealth  of  art  upon  their  parish 
church.  With  his  lively  family  feeling,  with  his 
warm  love  of  country,  he  rested  not  until  he  had 
conferred  enhanced  lustre  and  renown  upon  the 
church  of  his  childhood.  He  was  the  means,  in 
I  506,  of  inducing  the  Archbishop  of  Gnesen  to  found 
a  collegiate  institute  in  connection  with  this  church. 
As  soon  as  he  had  himself  become  archbishop,  and 
had  returned  from  his  journey  to  Rome,  he  caused 
the  church  to  be  enlarged,  and  its  interior  completed, 
in  part  by  Italian  architects  from  Cracow.  The  new 
edifice  received  the  name  of  the  Church  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  also 
Church  of  St.  Michael.  As  the  greatest  object  of  vene- 
ration, in  addition  to  many  other  relics  and  precious 
vessels,  he  bestowed  upon  it  the  statue  of  Mary, 
executed  in  white  marble,  which  Pope  Clement  VII. 
had  given  to  him,  faithful  Catholic  as  he  was,  and 
regarding  which  it  was  quickly  rumoured  that  it  was 
gifted  with  miraculous  powers,  and  that  helpless 
invalids  were  healed  by  touching  it,  not  at  all  to 
the  hurt  of  Lask.  For  during  many  successive 
centuries  pilgrimages  were  made  from  afar  to  this 
statue,  which  is  now  but  little  visited  and  appealed 
to  for  help,  hidden  as  it  is  in  the  world- forgotten 

3 


34  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

little  town,  and,  moreover,  so  concealed  behind  the 
altar-piece  that  it  displays  its  not  unattractive 
features  only  to  those  who  ask  to  see  it.  Many 
another  pious  gift,  too,  of  the  uncle,  such  as  that 
sumptuous  monstrance,  might  serve  to  call  up  to  the 
-boy's  memory  the  faithful  attachment  of  his  family 
to  the  church.  To  the  end  of  his  life  the  Arch- 
bishop retained  this  unselfish  affection.  Ever 
while  the  nephew  was  enjoying  the  companionship 
of  Erasmus,  the  uncle  extended  to  prelates  and 
canons  the  benefits  of  the  college  founded  two  decades 
before.  In  this  church  our  Johannes  cherished  the 
first  dreams  and  thoughts  in  his  devout  boyish 
mind  :  that  he  too,  destined  by  his  friends  for  the 
clerical  career,  would  one  day  have  willingly  tc 
devote  his  powers  to  God  on  behalf  of  the  Church 
and  at  that  time  also,  in  childish  delight,  he  was 
ready  to  do  so  in  the  ways  of  his  fathers.  For  ol 
any  worship  under  other  forms  and  modes  he  could 
not  conceive  ;  this  entirely  filled  up  his  youthful  soul, 
It  is  true,  another  current  was  already  sweeping 
through  the  aisles  of  many  a  church  even  in  Poland 
like  the  soft  resounding  note  of  an  ^Eolian  harp 
but  we  have  discovered  no  indication  that  the 
wondrously  affecting  note  had  as  yet  reached  the 
ear  of  the  boy  in  the  Chancellor's  church  of  his 
native  Lask,  the  note  which  sounded  forth,  e.g.,  in 
the  letter  of  Bernard  of  Lublin  to  Simon  of  Cracow, 
even  before  the  time  when  Luther  fixed  his  theses 
upon  the  castle  church  at  Wittenberg, — that  we  have 
only  to  believe  the  Gospel,  and  all  human  ordi- 
nances might  safely  be  annulled. 

The  boys  passed  no  more    than  their  childhood 
in    rustic    seclusion  at    the   family    castle    of    Lask, 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  35 

Perhaps   even    from   the  time   of  the   coronation   of 
King   Sigismund  (1507),  or,  it   may  be,  only  from 
the  time  of  the  uncle  becoming  Archbishop  of  Gnesen 
(1510),  the    latter    received    his    nephews    into   his 
archiepiscopal  residence  at  Cracow,  there  to  bestow 
upon    them  a    higher  education,  mainly    under    his 
own    oversight.*      The  Archbishop   cherished    great 
affection  for  his  family,  specially  for  his  brother  the 
Palatine  of  Sieradz  and  his  talented,  highly  endowed 
sons.     Willingly  did  the  father  grant  to  the  royal 
chancellor     and    after-archbishop    free    rein    in    the 
education    of  his  sons.     The   Archbishop   belonged 
in  those  days  to  the  number  of  the  most  renowned 
personages    of    the    Polish    court.       Great    services 
rendered  to  his  fatherland  had  obtained  for  him  the 
high  position   of  Primate  of  the  kingdom,  and   he 
filled  this  office  in  a  brilliant  manner  as  an  ecclesias- 
tical prince  and  a  statesman  of  the  first  rank.     King 
Casimir  had  already  desired  to  have  the  secretary 
and   chancellor   of  his  lord-chancellor    in    his    own 
immediate  service,  as  had  also,  but  likewise  for  the 
time  being  without  success,  Kingfo/in  Albert.     Some 
few  embassies,  however,  Laski  could  not  decline.      He 
was    in  Rome   when   the    troops    of   Charles  VIII. 
entered    there   (1494),  and   a   second    time   at    the 
great  Jubilee  (1500);  in  like   manner  we  see  him 
at  Brussels  in  the  year  1497.     In  1502  he  becomes 
chief  secretary  to  the  King ;  in  the  following  year 
he  is  already  Chancellor  of  the  kingdom.     We  can- 
not follow  this  energetic  man  through  all  the  labours 
by  which  in  that  position  he  rendered  such  eminent 
services  to  king  and   country,  until    at   the  age  of 

*  Walewski,    Jan    Laski,    reformator  Kosciola  (Wars- 
zawa,  1872),  p.  358. 


36  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

only  fifty-four,  he  attained  to    the  highest    dignity 
in  the  kingdom. 

There  is  presented  to  us  in  his  person  the  en- 
chanting picture  of  a  mighty  prince  of  the  Church 
of  that  day.  His  significance  lies  much  more  in 
the  civil  than  the  ecclesiastical  domain.  He  ad- 
ministers his  high  office  with  great  prudence,  and 
always  as  one  animated  by  an  ardent  love  of 
the  fatherland.  In  his  actions  he  is  guided  in  the 
first  instance  by  his  views  as  a  Pole.  It  is  thus 
he  gives  his  counsel  to  the  King ;  thus  he  raises 
his  powerful  voice  in  the  Senate,  at  the  different 
provincial  diets.  The  Church  is  not  a  matter 
of  indifference  for  him  ;  far  from  it.  He  is  and 
will  be  a  Polish  Catholic  ;  firmly  and  faithfully 
is  he  wedded  to  his  Church,  even  to  its  so  great 
errors,  so  superstitious  customs  of  those  days  ;  while 
those  of  his  own  rank  in  Rome  have  only  the 
same  pitying  smile  alike  for  these  and  for.  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  not  merely  a  sense  of 
prudence  which  impels  him  to  obtain  an  approving 
papal  brief  for  his  edition  of  the  civil  laws  ;  his 
wish  is  to  have  done  nothing  which  might  be  dis- 
pleasing to  the  Pope.*  Just  as  little  is  it  with  him 
imitation  of  traditional  custom  :  he  is  really  of  the 
devout  belief  that  he  shall  rest  in  more  sacred  soil 
when  he  brings  with  him  earth  from  Jerusalem  and 
from  the  grave  of  St.  Gregory,  and  causes  it  to  be 
emptied  out  in  front  of  the  cathedral  church  at 
Gnesen,  on  the  spot  where  one  day  his  bones  are 
to  be  laid.  With  real  devotion  does  he  give  re- 
ception to  the  relics  which  have  been  presented 

*  Compare  Theiner,  Vetera  Monumenta  Polonies  et  Lithu- 
ania (Rome,  1861),  ii.  362. 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  37 

to  him  in  Rome  :  for  such  gift  he  has  no  sparkling 
jest  at  hand.  He  does  not  take  pleasure  in  fleecing 
the  credulous  multitude  by  means  of  such  jugglery, 
and  thus  drawing  a  large  sum  into  his  own  purse  ; 
he  takes  them  home  as  precious  keepsakes,  and  is 
ready,  among  the  first,  to  bow  the  knee  before  such 
objects  of  veneration.  He  defends  the  rights  of  his 
Church  with  all  zeal,  and  desires  to  safeguard  it 
against  the  poison  of  false  doctrine.  His  devout, 
tolerant  Slavonic  mind  preserves  him  from  the 
supposition  that  such  protection  is  to  be  found  in 
the  stake  which  consumes  the  body  of  the  heretic. 

As  a  Polish  ecclesiastical  prince,  the  Archbishop 
lived  in  great  and  brilliant  style.  It  is  an  abundant 
inventory  of  valuables  which  he  devises  to  friends 
and  relatives  in  his  will.*  The  long  enumeration 
makes  us  soon  forget  that  it  is  the  legacy  of  a 
servant  whose  Master,  poorer  than  fox  and  bird  of  the 
air,  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  The  Archbishop's 
position  necessitated  his  holding  court,  and  not  in 
Gnesen  alone  :  in  Cracow  too  he  had  his  residence, 
where  the  highest  of  the  kingdom  went  in  and 
out. 

Hither  he  had  his  three  nephews  removed  so  soon 
as  the  years  came  when  they  must  receive  a  higher 
education  in  order  to  fit  them  for  the  career  which, 
in  consultation  with  their  father,  he  selected  for  them. 
Jerome  and  Stanislas  were  destined  to  the  statesman's 
office,  while  our  Johannes — as  it  seems,  his  uncle's 
favourite — was  early  marked  out  for  an  ecclesiastical 
career.  We  have  not  the  slightest  ground  for 

*  Compare  Zeissberg,  Johannes  Laski  undsein  Testament 
(in  Proceedings  of  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences]  (Vienna,  1874), 
p.  708,  seq. 


38  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

supposing  that  the  nephew  submitted  only  with 
reluctance  to  such  determination.  In  a  high  degree 
had  Divine  grace  endowed  him  for  the  sublime 
vocation,  though  in  such  widely  different  fulfilment 
from  that  which  the  uncle,  who  is  not  undeservedly 
accused  of  nepotism,  dreams  of  for  him.  Often  may 
he  have  looked  with  satisfaction  in  those  days  upon 
the  quiet,  gentle  boy,  with  his  great  thoughtful  eyes, 
as  being  the  heir  not  only  to  his  name,  but,  through 
the  exertion  of  his  powerful  influence,  one  day  also 
to  his  position. 

It  was  a  vast  change,  particularly  for  the  mind 
of  an  emotional  youth,  from  the  quiet  of  a  country 
life,  from  the  seclusion  of  his  father's  castle,  to  be 
transferred  all  at  once  into  the  bustling  city  of 
Cracow  and  into  the  palace  of  the  revered  Archbishop. 
Cracow  was  then  in  the  days  of  its  splendour.  King 
Casimir  the  Great,  who  so  much  loved  the  city,  had 
found  it  at  his  accession  built  of  wood  and  earth,  but 
at  his  death  had  left  it  constructed  of  stone.  During 
the  preceding  half-century  the  prosperity  of  the  city 
had  increased  with  extraordinary  strides  ;  hand  in  hand 
therewith  had  arisen  a  creative  spirit,  delighting  to 
give  to  this  wealth  an  abiding  expression  in  magni- 
ficent buildings,  such  as  bear  fair  testimony  to  a 
lively  taste  for  art.  The  very  different  conditions  of 
later  centuries  have  not  succeeded  altogether  in 
effacing  this  expression.  Even  in  the  present  day 
the  city  enchains  us  by  its  ancient  towering 
structures,  and  the  judge  of  architecture  still  discovers 
many  an  edifice  which  brings  to  his  mind  those 
palmy  days  of  the  Jagellonian  age.  One  trait  in 
particular  even  now  manifests  itself  with  great 
significance ;  the  twofold  current,  namely,  which 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  39 

then  ran  through  the  whole  civil  and  social  life  of 
Poland,  finds  its  living  manifestation  in  the  buildings 
of  the  city.  Above,  upon  the  Wawel,  where  stands 
the  proud  castle,  and  within  the  court-yard  of  the 
castle  the  cathedral,  there  the  Polish  king  has  built  ; 
in  close  contiguity  to  him,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and 
in  some  bordering  streets,  likewise  the  high  nobility, 
spiritual  and  temporal  ;  in  the  city,  strictly  speaking, 
the  German  merchant  and  tradesman  raised  his 
buildings,  edifices  which  furnish  eloquent  testimony 
to  his  wealth,  but  at  the  same  time  to  his  sense  of 
nationality,  his  own  self-esteem.  Among  the  archi- 
tects upon  the  hill,  Master  Bartholom&us,  of  Florence, 
towers  specially  above  the  rest.  It  was  he  who 
executed  the  Jagellon  Chapel,  a  superb  masterpiece 
of  the  Renaissance.  The  Germans  in  the  city  below 
would  have  none  of  the  new  style  now  coming  into 
vogue,  nor  of  the  foreign  masters  from  Italy  :  they 
fetched  their  artists  from  Nuremberg.  For  years 
did  the  renowned  master  Veit  Stoss  labour  in  their 
princely  pay  upon  his  main  work,  the  high  altar  in 
the  Church  of  St.  Mary  at  the  Circle.  These  German 
settlers  in  Cracow  had  acquired  great  privileges, 
retaining  their  own  civic  law  and  forming  almost  an 
independent  State  within  the  State.  They  never 
became  amalgamated  with  the  Poles,  but  lived  in 
the  land  a  life  apart,  a  separation  which  was  ac- 
curately reflected  in  the  physiognomy  of  the  town. 
Down  there  at  the  Circle  they  were  their  own 
lords,  only  overtowered  by  the  royal  seat  upon  the 
Wawel,  and  surrounded  by  the  same  protecting 
rampart  of  the  city  walls.  The  stranger  who  visited 
Cracow  thought  himself  transported  to  Nuremberg. 
The  people  upon  the  streets  spoke  in  the  language 


4o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  their  home-land  ;  the  enormous  commerce  which 
was  then  so  vigorously  carried  on  by  water  and  land 
at  this,  the  converging  point  in  those  days  of  the 
intercourse  between  the  East  and  West,  was  all  in 
German  hands  ;  the  flourishing  trade,  too,  was  ex- 
clusively German,  maintained,  in  conjunction  with 
the  old  well-organised  guilds  of  the  fatherland,  in 
the  ancient  and  strictly  regulated  ordinances  and 
customs  of  the  German  citizens. 

Everywhere,  upon  the  streets,  in  the  houses,  in 
the  guild  chambers  and  halls,  prevailed  a  most  active 
and  bustling  life.  That  which  must  most  favourably 
strike  one  in  a  city  like  Cracow  at  this  time  is  the 
remarkable  prominence  given  to  the  burgher  element, 
side  by  side  with  the  imposing  splendour  and  glory 
of  the  residence  of  a  king  whose  voice  was  mighty 
in  the  council  of  crowned  heads — a  burghership 
which  was  conscious  of  its  own  importance,  and  with 
pride  also  knew  how  to  maintain  its  rights  in  presence 
of  a  haughty  nobility.  It  was  not  thus  at  all  in 
accord  with  the  other  relations  in  the  land.  Nor 
was  it  yet  known  at  that  time,  that  the  powerful 
nobility  would  gradually,  to  the  ruin  of  the  country, 
force  back  this  so  important  element,  and  deprive  it 
of  its  privileges. 

With  great  earnestness  and  jealous  care  did  the 
uncle  watch  over  the  education  of  the  nephews  com- 
mitted to  his  charge.  He  demanded  much  of  them 
and  imposed  severe  discipline,  because  he  intended 
one  day  to  confer  much  upon  them,  and  would  con- 
fer this  only  upon  men  who  were  called,  by  reason  of 
their  vigour  and  ability,  to  be  an  ornament  of  their 
country.  Cracow  offered  even  in  those  days  a  choice 
of  very  fine  schools  ;  the  Archbishop,  however,  pre- 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  41 

ferred,  as  was  then  customary  with  the  nobility  of 
higher  rank,  to  provide  private  tuition  for  his  wards, 
who  were  accordingly  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
pedagogue.  This  course  was  the  more  imperative 
in  the  present  case,  inasmuch  as  the  uncle  was  often 
obliged  to  stay  for  a  long  time  together  in  other 
places,  while  Cracow  remained  the  constant  dwelling- 
place  of  his  nephews.  Such  a  tutor  was  looked 
upon  as  a  member  of  the  family.  He  remained  year 
after  year  in  the  house,  and  accompanied  the  sons 
to  the  University.  In  his  later  days  he  obtained,  as 
a  rule,  some  kind  of  engagement,  generally  as  secre- 
tary or  steward  to  his  former  pupil,  and  at  last  a 
generous  provision  for  his  old  age.  We  are  perhaps 
justified  in  regarding  John  Braniczky  as  such  peda-  f  ?</ 
gogue  of  the  boys  as  early  as  the  Cracow  days  ;  we  \ 
meet  with  him  again  as  accompanying  them  in 
Bologna  ;  and  he  is  afterwards  adopted  by  the  elder 
brother,  Jerome,  among  those  of  his  household 
(familiaris],  and  is  also  often  employed  by  the  uncle 
as  a  sort  of  confidential  agent.* 

We  have  been  unable,  notwithstanding  zealous 
investigations,  to  discover  immediate  accounts  of  the 
course  of  study  pursued  by  our  boys  in  the  archi- 
episcopal  palace  ;  but,  since  we  have  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  this  differed  in  any  essential  respect 
from  that  usual  in  Cracow  in  those  days,  we  may 
suppose  the  impressions  we  have  gained  with  regard 
to  the  prevailing  form  of  instruction  to  hold  good 
also  so  far  as  concerns  the  education  of  the  nephews. 
We  shall  certainly  not  be  far  wrong  in  the  conception 
formed  from  the  school  books  which  appeared  in 

*  Zeissberg,  p.  694. 


tw 


42  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Cracow   at   the  time,  which  in  their  titles  and  the 
seldom  wanting  dedications  are  more  loquacious  than 
the  school  books  of  the  present  day,  and  thus  in  a 
naive  way  disclose  to  the  investigator  many  an  in- 
teresting detail.     A  busy  life  prevailed  also  in  this 
domain  in  Poland's  capital  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century.     Very  soon  after  the  discovery  of 
the  art  of  printing  disciples  of  this  art  had  arrived  in 
Poland,  of  course  almost  all  of  them  Germans,  as  is 
manifest  from  the  names  Hatter,  Hochfeder,    Unger, 
Scharffenberger,  etc.     They  had  set  up  their  offices 
in   Cracow.      In   the   second  quarter  of  the  century 
their  most  lively  activity  in  the  issuing  of  books  may 
be  said   to   begin;    but  even   from    1470    to    1525 
there  is  no  small  number  of  works  appearing  in  the 
book-markets  of  Frankfort,  and  Leipsic,  and  Thorn, 
and  elsewhere,  which  bear  on  their  title-page  as  the 
place  of  publication  the  name  of  the  distant  Cracow. 
As  elsewhere  at  the  time  of  the  revival  of  literature, 
so  in  Poland  too,  the  printers  and  publishers — offices, 
as  a  rule,  combined  in  one  and  the  same  person — 
occupied    a    highly    esteemed    position    among    the 
Humanists.     With  the  first  love   for  the  wondrous 
art   was   combined   in   these    men  the  most   ardent 
enthusiasm  for  the  newly-awakened  life  of  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans  ;  they  were  conscious  of  being 
specially  called   to  kindle   far  and  wide  that  which 
they  deemed  the  sacred  fire.      Side  by  side  with  such 
men  as  Aldus  Manutius  in  Venice,  the  Frobens  in 
Basle,  there  is  associated  on  equal  terms  the  printer 
Hatter  in  Poland,  whose  praise  still  resounds  upon 
the  title-pages  of  his  books  in  the  designation  often 
to  be  met  with,  "  This  work  was  printed  at  the  cost  of 
tlie  very  noble  and  well-informed  man  Master  John 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  43 

Haller,  citizen  of  Cracow,  and  most  distinguished  en- 
courager  of  learned  men."* 

The  great  number  of  school  books  appearing  in 
Cracow  in  those  days,  particularly  for  the  classic 
languages,  enables  us  to  infer  the  great  demand 
existing,  equally  so  as  the  early  editions  prepared  of 
the  Roman  and  even  Greek  writers.  Special  merit 
for  such  editions  was  here  acquired  by  John  of 
Glogau,  Professor  in  the  University,!  and  John 
Sommerfeld,  pupil  of  Celtes.^ 

Much  stress  was  laid  by  the  strict  and  accom- 
plished uncle  upon  his  nephews'  acquiring  the  neces- 
sary attainments  by  means  of  severe  discipline  and 
training  ;  their  great  desire  for  learning,  and  the  rich 
natural  gifts  which  early  manifssted  themselves, 
readily  and  easily  seconded  these  requirements. 
The  time  was  spent  not  in  scientific  studies  alone  ; 
in  the  case  of  the  sons  of  the  Polish  nobility  respect 
was  had  likewise  to  vigorous  physical  development. 
In  early  years  the  boy  learned  while  in  his  father's 
castle  to  mount  the  horse,  and  soon  knew  how  to 
urge  him  on  with  gleeful  delight.  The  stables  at 
the  archiepiscopal  palace  were  sufficiently  extensive 
for  the  young  barons  not  to  need  to  forego  in  the 
city  their  wonted  art.  The  wielding  of  arms,  too, 
was  not  long  an  unknown  acquirement  to  the  free- 
born  youth  so  soon  as  he  had  attained  the  strength 


*  "Impressum  autem  est  hoc  opus  ad  impensas  optimi 
humanissimique  viri  Domini  Joannis  Haller,  Civis  Craco- 
viensis  virorum  doctorum  fautoris  excellentissimi."  Compare 
Jocher,  Obraz  bibliographicus-historiczny  literaturi  i  nauk 
w  Polsce  (Wilno,  1840),  i.  72. 

f  Compare  Jocher,  i.  14. 

j  Compare  Zeissberg,  Die  Polnische  Geschichtsschreibung 
des  Mittelalters  (Leipsic,  1873),  p.  407,  and  Jocher,  i.  in. 


44  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 


to  handle  them.  Then  also  in  due  time  his  intense 
desire  of  taking  part  in  the  chase  with  his  seniors 
was  gratified.  Out  in  the  inhospitable  forest,  with 
its  rude  obstacles,  or  away  in  the  damp  moorland, 
the  youthful  body  was  invigorated  and  hardened, 
and  the  nerve  early  steeled,  by  the  surmounting  of 
so  many  a  peril  in  the  extensive  woodlands  of  his 
native  land.  That  which  the  boys  had  enjoyed  at 
home,  as  regards  the  pleasures  of  the  forest,  they 
had  not  altogether  to  renounce  during  their  stay 
in  Cracow.  The  picturesque  and  wildly  romantic 
Carpathians  enticed  to  many  a  hunting  excursion, 
and  estates  of  the  family  on  the  maternal  side 
(Lanskoron)  adjacent  thereto  afforded  an  opportu- 
nity of  yielding  to  this  enticement. 

So  far  as  it  is  possible  for  us  to  form  a  clear  con- 
ception, from  the  sparse  information  we  have,  as  to 
the  education  of  the  Polish  nobility  of  that  day,  it 
reminds  us  not  a  little  of  many  a  prominent  feature  in 
the  education  even  to  the  present  day  in  the  ancient 
schools  of  England,  which  have  been  scarcely  touched 
by  the  rapidly  transforming  hand  of  time.  A 
kindred  trait  of  great  significance  is  presented  to  us 
in  the  fact  that  here,  as  there,  in  the  houses  of  the 
nobility  the  son  who  is  growing  up  learns  that  which 
is  stirring  in  the  minds  of  the  fathers.  As  yet  the 
young  men  are  not  allowed  to  take  a  personal  part 
in  the  conversation  ;  but  they  are  silent  attentive 
listeners,  and  acquire  in  this  way,  in  social  intercourse 
with  those  of  riper  age,  almost  without  an  effort  a 
portion  of  their  special  refinement.  Their  fathers, 
then  in  Poland  and  still  in  England,  were  not  idle 
spectators  of  that  which  was  passing  in  the  world  ; 
they  felt  themselves  called  to  play  an  energetic  part 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  45 


in  shaping  the  destinies  of  their  country,  and  the 
country  of  a  Pole  was  then  at  least  equally  signifi- 
cant, equally  influential  on  the  destinies  of  the  age, 
as  is  in  the  present  day  that  of  England  in  the 
council  of  the  nations.  In  the  proud  sense  of  per- 
taining to  their  nation,  however,  the  members  of  both 
lands  stand  in  reality  upon  a  level  The  almost 
exclusively  so-called  classical  education  has  opened 
the  eye  and  ear  there  of  the  sons  of  the  Polish 
senator,  here  of  the  English  lord,  instead  of  weaken- 
ing and  destroying  these  intellectual  organs  by 
application  to  an  excessive  number  of  objects  ;  and 
with  the  understanding  thus  called  forth,  the  young 
man  then  gains  from  intercourse  and  from  life  itself 
the  necessary  experience  for  his  particular  calling. 
Only  the  Polish  youth  were  brought  up  in  great 
fear  and  reverence  for  the  grown-up  and  maturer 
members  of  the  family  ;  with  the  liveliest  feeling  of 
affection  there  was  blended  profound  respect  for  the 
will  of  the  parents  and  of  those  who  in  their  place 
conducted  the  education.  And  in  this  feature  there 
comes  forth  a  fair  indication  of  the  Slavonic  mind, 
with  its  ready  manifestation  of  obedience  to  its 
superiors,  resting  as  this  does  upon  a  religious  basis 
of  character,  as  a  parallel  to  the  equally  fair  and 
vigorous  sense  of  independence  and  impulse  after 
freedom  on  the  part  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

It  was  mainly  in  order  to  afford  his  nephews  the 
abundant  advantage  which  accrues  to  youth  from 
an  early  association  with  the  leading  men  of  the 
fatherland  that  the  royal  chancellor  and  Archbishop 
had  taken  the  highly  promising  lads  out  of  their 
ancestral  castle  to  himself  in  the  city.  The  house 
of  this  distinguished  man  formed  a  place  of  rendez- 


46  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 


vous  for  the  choicest  society.  His  high  position  in 
itself  drew  the  men  of  note  on  two  sides  to  him  for 
social  intercourse.  The  bishops  of  the  land  visited 
the  Archbishop,  and  at  the  abode  of  the  Primate  one 
would  meet  with  the  statesmen  of  the  kingdom  and 
the  ambassadors  of  foreign  courts.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  personal  character  of  Laski  exerted  a  special 
power  of  attraction.  His  great  learning,  his  mature 
judgment  even  on  scientific  questions,  the  high 
nobility  of  his  sentiments,  the  whole  vigour  of  his 
nature,  combined  with  his  pleasure  in  intellectual 
conversation,  attracted  to  the  hospitable  house  all 
the  leading  men  of  science  and  of  art  whom  Cracow 
then  contained  within  its  walls  ;  and  their  number, 
in  the  day  of  Poland's  bloom,  was  not  small. 

In  the  intellectual  domain  also  the  highly  favoured 
land  had  just  attained  to  the  zenith  of  its  develop- 
ment, was  perhaps  at  that  very  time  preparing  to 
descend  again  from  the  height.  The  culture  of  the 
Polish  nobility  at  this  time  drew  to  itself  the  wonder- 
ing gaze  of  other  nations  ;  that  which  outside  of  the 
land  stirred  the  spirits  found  here  a  lively  echo, 
open  welcome,  free  asylum.  The  Humanism,  too, 
awakened  by  the  revival  of  the  sciences  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  passed,  in  its  travels  through  the 
cultured  nations  of  Europe,  over  the  Polish  frontiers, 
settled  in  the  hospitable  land,  and  became  quickly 
naturalised  among  the  upper  ranks  of  society ; 
specially  in  Cracow,  whither,  in  the  year  1400, 
King  Wladislaw  removed  the  University,  already 
founded,  in  1364,  by  Castmtrthe  Great  in  the  humid 
city  of  Kasimir.  It  had  become  a  fashion  with  the 
sons  of  the  nobility  to  pass  a  few  years  abroad  in 
study  at  the  main  seats  of  science  ;  eager  as  they 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  47 

were  for  the  acquisition  of  learning  and  withal  richly 
gifted,  they  entered  with  open  mind  into  the  far- 
reaching  humanistic  movement  which  presented 
itself,  and  returning  to  their  great  country,  followed 
up  in  their  solitary  castles  the  new  impulse  they  had 
received,  sometimes  in  common  with  their  impres- 
sionable sisters,  along  with  whom,  too,  in  past  years 
they  had  in  the  ancestral  castle  studied  the  Latin 
language  under  the  pedagogue  of  the  house. 

The  restless  and  unrestrained  love  of  travel  which 
took  possession  of  not  a  few  Humanists,  and  led  them 
to  roam  from  place  to  place,  to  search  in  ancient 
monasteries  for  lost  manuscripts,  or  to  scatter  in  all 
directions  the  fresh-discovered  knowledge,  had 
brought  many  of  these  "  errant  people "  to  the 
distant  Sarmatian  land  ;  and  great  was  their  astonish- 
ment when  they  beheld  in  the  strongholds,  amidst 
the  rude  wilderness,  so  much  refinement  and  intelli- 
gence ;  when  in  Cracow  and  the  other  cities, 
peopled  mainly  by  German  burghers,  they  met 
with  such  busy  life,  such  stirring  commerce.  The 
famous  historian  Dlugosz  is  able  to  relate  to  the 
almost  omnipotent  Bishop  of  Cracow  of  that  time, 
Zbigneus  (1450), — upon  whom  the  Pope  conferred 
the  cardinal's  hat, — that  ^Eneas  Sylvius,  afterwards 
Pope  Pius  II.,  one  of  the  first  writers  of  his  day,  and 
renowned  for  his  Latin  style,  expressed  his  astonish- 
ment at  the  letter  he  had  received  from  the  supposed 
land  of  barbarians.  ^Eneas  twitted  the  Germans 
present,  he  tells  us,  with  the  words  that  the  epistle 
was  a  reproach  to  them  ;  for  this  epistle  was  so 
charming  and  full  of  thought,  that  he  did  not  know 
whether  he  should  himself  succeed  in  framing  a 
worthy  reply.  The  letter  was  a  proof  that  there 


48  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

were  in  Poland  splendid  heads  as  regards  both 
theory  and  practice,  and  he  doubted  if  anybody 
could  be  found  in  all  Germany  who  knew  as  well 
how  to  put  the  words  together.* 

When  the  distinguished  Humanist  Filippo  Buonac- 
corsa  da  Gemignano,  better  known  under  his  nom  de 
plume  of  Callimachus,  was  driven  out  of  Rome  by 
Pope  Paul  If.,  who  was  hostile  to  Humanism,  he 
turned,  impelled  by  curiosity  and  love  of  travel,  to 
Poland  (1470)  ;  in  Cracow  he  entered  himself  as 
scholar  at  the  University,  and  became  tutor  and 
afterwards  familiar  friend  of  the  royal  princes.  His 
influence  in  diffusing  Humanism  in  Poland  was  far 
from  small ;  an  Italian  bishop  composed  on  him  the 
not  altogether  inapposite  epigram  : 

Barbes  were  the  family  clept  who   drove  out  of  Rome 

Callimachus, 
But  he  in  return  has  made  into  Romans  barbarians. f 

At  the  time  when  Callimachus  was  opening  up  a 
path  to  Humanism  in  Poland,  there  dwelt  at  Cracow 
Conrad  Celtes,  the  true  picture  of  an  errant  Humanist 
of  that  day,  who  in  Rome  had  been  a  disciple  of 
Pomponius  Laetus,  and  had  already  obtained  from  the 
German  emperor  the  doctor's  hat,  and  yet  did  not 
disdain  to  be  enrolled  as  a  scholar  at  the  Polish 
University  (1497) — scholar  and  teacher,  it  is  true,  at 
the  same  time.  While  to-day  he  sat  at  the  feet  of 
Albert  of  Brudzewo  and  attended  his  lectures  on 

*  Zeissberg,  Die  Polnische  Geschichisschreibung,  p.  217. 

t  Compare  Roscoe,  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X.,  i.  54  of 
A.**1  German  translation.  "Barbos  fugiens  ex  urbe  furores,  barbara 
quse  fuerunt  regna,  Latina  fe'cit."  Paul  II.  was,  as  is  well 
known,  a  descendant  of  the  house  of  Barbo,  which  often  in 
the  course  of  the  ages  gave  occasion  in  the  person  of  some 
of  its  representatives  to  sim  ilar  biting  language. 


FAMILY  AND    YOUTH.  49 


astronomy  and  mathematics,  to-morrow  he  gathered 
around  him  a  circle  of  enthusiastic  students,  to 
whom,  as  a  university  guest,  he  delivered  lectures  on 
poetry  and  rhetoric.  Nay,  he  even  transplanted  an 
offshoot  of  the  Platonic  Academy  from  the  banks 
of  the  Tiber  to  those  of  the  Vistula,  inasmuch  as 
he  founded  in  Cracow  the  Literary  Society  of  the 
Vistula  (Sodalitas  litteraria  Vistulana).  A  young 
Polish  lady  of  noble  birth,  Hasilina  de  Rzytonicz, 
formed  an  intimate  friendship  with  the  German 
Humanist,  the  "  Noric  Elsula "  celebrated  in  his 
odes  (from  whom  he  learnt  the  Polish  language, 
while  he  taught  her  his  native  German).  It  is  a 
beautiful  letter  which  the  Polish  lady,  incensed  at 
such  notoriety,  addressed  to  the  poet,  an  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  delicate  sense  of  honour  and 
propriety  which  animated  the  Polish  woman  of  that 
time  and  led  her  to  shrink  from  every  kind  of 
publicity.* 

Callimackus,  it  is  true,  no  longer  lived  when  young 
Laski  was  in  Cracow  for  his  education,  and  Celtes, 
too,  had  a  decade  before  wandered  back  to  Germany ; 
but  the  influence  of  such  men  and  of  those  like- 
minded  with  them  did  not  come  to  an  end  with  their 
departure  :  far  and  wide  extended  the  circle  of  in- 
tellectual movement  which  they  had  set  going,  and 
the  quickening  surge  touched  with  refreshing  vigour 
that  society  which  frequented  the  house  of  the  Arch- 

*  The  letter  was  composed  in  the  Bohemian  language, 
which  was  then  much  written  and  spoken  in  the  castles  of  the 
Polish  nobility,  even  on  the  part  of  ladies ;  Aschbach,  in  his 
charming  paper  on  the  earlier  travelling  years  of  Conrad 
Celtes,  gives  the  original,  accompanied  by  a  translation 
{Sitzungsbericht  der  Konigl.  Akademie  der  Wissen- 
schaften  in  Wten,  Ix.  147). 

4 


so  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

bishop,  himself  acquainted  with  Callimachus  in  his 
best  years,  and  assuredly  no  stranger  to  the  "Society 
of  the  Vistula."  The  growing  lads,  themselves 
devoted  with  most  ardent  zeal  to  the  study  of  the 
classics,  could  only  be  advanced  in  a  high  degree  by 
a  surrounding  like  this. 

Such  was  the  intellectual  atmosphere  breathed  by 
the  young  Laskis  during  the  days  of  their  education 
in  Cracow.  Their  after-life  affords  evidence  that 
this  atmosphere  braced  and  prepared  them  to  enter 
with  vigour  upon  their  future  life-task.  They  had 
reached  in  the  course  of  time  the  years  at  which, 
having  outgrown  the  age  of  home-training,  they  were 
to  receive  the  finishing  touch  to  their  education  at 
the  University.  The  Polish  University  was  no  doubt 
in  a  position  to  have  imparted  this.  It  counted  its 
students  by  many  hundreds,  and  distinguished  pro- 
fessors in  the  different  departments  contributed  not 
a  little  to  the  reputation  of  the  University.  But  it 
was  the  practice  of  the  nobility  to  send  their  sons 
abroad  for  the  completion  of  their  studies.  Paris, 
Bologna,  Padua  exerted  greater  attraction  for  the 
travel-loving  Poles,  than  the  national  University. 
Formerly,  too,  the  sister  school  of  Prague  had 
belonged  to  the  number  of  these  specially  favoured 
seats  of  learning  ;  but  the  Hussite  conflicts,  and  the 
edicts  issued  in  consequence  thereof  against  repairing 
to  the  Bohemian  capital,  now  tainted  with  heresy, 
had  told  unfavourably  upon  this  predilection.  For 
our  young  Laskis  the  decision  of  the  question  as  to 
the  scene  of  their  future  studies  rested  with  the 
uncle  ;  his  official  business  at  the  time  determined 
the  choice  of  the  University. 


TIL 

THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD. 

i.  IN  ROME. 

THE  beginning  of  the  year  1512  brought  with 
it  great  festivities  at  Cracow,  and  specially  a 
mighty  influx  of  illustrious  guests  from  various  parts 
of  Hungary  and  Poland.  On  the  8th  of  February 
was  the  coronation  of  the  Princess  Barbara,  only 
daughter  of  Step/ten  de  Zapolya,  on  the  occasion  of 
her  marriage  with  King  Sigismund.  The  wedding 
address  was  delivered  by  John  Staphileus  (Staffileo),* 
despatched  by  Pope  Julius  II.  to  summon  the  King 
to  send  delegates  to  the  Lateran  Council.  Two 
points  were  emphasised  in  the  letter  of  invitation. 
First,  it  was  to  be  the  task  of  this,  the  last  council 
before  the  Reformation,  "  to  renew  to  her  earlier 
dignity  and  true  religion  the  Church,  which  ought  to 
be  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  and  this  by  means  of  a 
reformation  based  upon  the  love  of  God  and  one's 
neighbour  ;  and  then  to  direct  most  zealously  and 
with  one  accord  all  the  forces  of  the  whole  of 


*  Afterwards  employed  by  Pope  Clement  VII.  in  the  nego- 
tiations with  Henry  VIII.  (Burnet,  Reformation,  i.,  p.  40 
note,  Bonn's  Edition). 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


Christendom  against  the  enemies  of  the  Christian 
name."  *  King  Sigismund  promised  to  send  repre- 
sentatives to  the  proposed  council,  and  nominated 
thereto  as  spiritual  envoy  the  Archbishop  of  Gnesen, 
and  as  temporal  envoy  the  Castellan  of  Kalisch, 
Stanislas  Ostrorog.  Neither  delegate  was  in  a  great 
hurry  to  depart,  and  this  indeed  with  the  approval 
of  the  King  ;  there  was  no  ardent  enthusiasm  about 
despatching  messengers  to  a  council  which  at  bottom 
was  mainly  a  declaration  of  the  Pope  against  the 
Council  of  Pisa,  and  from  the  reformatory  efforts  of 
which  the  people,  already  too  often  deceived,  and 
now  grown  weary,  looked  for  very  little.  There  were 
but  few  foreign  representatives  present  when,  on  the 
3rd  of  May,  1512,  the  opening  discourse  was  delivered 
by  the  most  renowned  pulpit  orator  of  his  time, 
Egidius  de  Viterbo.  And  indeed  it  were  to  be  wished 
that  there  had  been  numerous  and  submissive  hearers 
present  to  listen  to  this  nervous  address,  in  which 
the  fearless  general  of  the  Augustin  Friars  summoned 
the  Church  and  its  then  most  militant  head  to  grasp, 
with  a  view  to  obtaining  the  victory,  the  weapons 
given  to  her:  religion,  veracity,  prayer,  as  the  armour 
of  faith  and  the  sword  of  light.")"  Important  nego- 
tiations in  particular  with  the  German  order  and  its 
Grand  Master,  Albert  of  Prussia,  and  negotiations  on 
account  of  the  threatening  war  with  the  Russians, 
Tartars,  and  Turks,  still  detained  the  Primate  of  the 
kingdom  at  the  Diet  of  Petrikow  ;  in  the  general 
convention  of  Posen,  too,  by  which  these  negotiations 
were  followed,  the  Archbishop  took  part,  at  the  wish 

*  Tomiciana  A  eta  ("  Epistolae,  legationes,  responsa,  actiones, 
res  gestae  ser.  Princip.  Sigismundi  "),  ii.  15. 
t  Hardt,  Acta  Conciliorum  (Parisiis,  1714),  ix.,  p.  1579. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      53 

of  the  King  ;  only  at  the  end  of  March,  1513,  could 
Laski  set  out  upon  his  journey  Romewards. 

The  route  led  first  to  Cracow.  Here  he  received 
the  intelligence,  communicated  by  the  King,  of  the 
death  of  Julius  II.  Si^ismund  left  it  to  the  judgment 
of  the  ambassador  whether  he  would  be  put  from 
his  journey  or  not  by  the  unexpected  event ;  Laski, 
however,  hastened  the  more  to  attend  the  assembly 
of  ecclesiastical  princes  at  the  decisive  hour.  He 
left  the  Castellan  of  Kalisch  behind  to  await  the 
new  credentials,  and  himself  departed  in  the  first 
week  of  April.  The  two  elder  nephews,  Jerome  and 
our  JoJiannes,  were  to  prosecute  their  studies  under 
his  eyes  in  Rome.  Stanislas,  as  yet  only  twelve 
years  old,  remained  for  the  present  with  his  father. 
In  place  of  him  we  hear  of  another  companion  in 
study,  whom  the  Archbishop  took,  along  with  the 
two  nephews,  at  his  own  charge.  Although  a  few 
letters  of  his  are  lying  before  us,  we  are  unable  to 
discover  anything  definite  with  regard  to  this  person. 
Laski,  who  supported  at  his  own  cost  a  lecturer 
on  theology  at  the  University  of  Cracow,  and  in  a 
liberal  manner  supported  learning  and  its  disciples, 
furnished  at  the  same  time  a  number  of  young 
people  with  the  means  of  pursuing  their  studies. 
Among  these  he  may  have  been  one,  an  intimate 
friend  of  the  nephews,  perhaps  a  member  of  the 
family  bearing  the  escutcheon  Korab  (the  cognisance 
of  the  Laskis). 

It  may  be  the  two  nephews  were  already  equipped 
to  begin  with  their  uncle  the  long  and  tedious 
journey,  or  it  may  be  that  they  only  overtook  him, 
with  his  companions  in  travel,  in  Bruck,  on  the  Mur, 
whither,  by  way  of  Olmiitz,  Stanislas  of  Ostrorog 


54  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

hastened  to  join  the  Archbishop  with  the  new  letters 
of  authorisation.  From  the  picturesquely  situated 
little  town  in  Styria  the  travelling  procession,  grown  to 
somewhat  large  dimensions,  first  directed  its  way 
through  the  fair  Alpine  territories  towards  Venice, 
an  entirely  new  unwonted  scenery  for  the  young 
men,  who  now  for  the  first  time,  emerging  from  the 
plains  of  Poland,  breathed  the  air  of  the  mountains. 
A  brief  halt  had  to  be  made  in  the  city  of  the 
lagoons  ;  Laski  had  to  deliver  a  commission  for  his 
king  to  the  Doge,  Leonardo  Loredano*  Poland  and 
Venice  were  in  arms  at  that  time  against  the  same 
powerful  foe,  only  with  the  difference  that,  as  Laski 
set  forth  to  the  Doge,  Venice  was  fighting  for  its 
reputation,  the  augmentation  of  its  power,  or  even  from 
love  of  dominion  ;  Poland,  on  the  other  hand,  because 
it  regarded  itself  as  the  bulwark  of  Christendom 
against  the  heathen,  and  sought  its  highest  pros- 
perity not  in  passing  over  the  frontiers  of  others,  but 
in  defending  its  own.  From  Venice  the  route  then 
led  without  interruption  to  Rome,  where  they  arrived 
at  the  beginning  of  June. 

It  was  the  seventh  sitting  of  the  Lateran  Council, 
-—on  the  1 7th  of  June, — which  Laski  first  attended, 
and  at  which  he  delivered  his  credentials.  While 
his  companion,  Stanislas  of  Ostrorog,  is  mentioned  in 
the  protocol  as  amongst  the  ambassadors,  we  find 
Laski  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Patriarchs  and  assist- 
ants of  the  Pope.  Leo  X.  received  the  Primate  of 
Poland  with  great  honours  ;  he  placed  him  upon  the 
important  commission  of  the  council,  in  which  all 
questions  touching  the  restoration  of  a  universal 

*  Tomiciana,  ii.  178. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      55 

peace  among  all  Christian  rulers  and  the  extirpa- 
tion of  schism  were  discussed.  In  the  eighth 
sitting,  on  the  iQth  of  December,  1513,  Laski  had 
received  the  charge,  in  his  capacity  of  assistant  to 
the  Pope,  to  communicate  a  papal  letter  to  the 
assembly.*  The  contents  of  the  letter  are  at  the 
same  time  characteristic  of  the  position  of  the  uncle 
of  the  future  Reformer.  It  addresses  itself  to  the 
combating  of  prevalent  unbelief,  of  widely  extending 
doubt  as  to  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Leo,  the 
child  of  his  age,  so  greatly  irradiated  with  the  beams 
of  fortune  as  to  be  able  to  give  his  name  to  the 
time  in  which  he  lived,  and  just  as  little  disposed  as 
his  friend  and  private  secretary  Bembo  to  fulfil  the 
wish  of  the  believers  and  condemn  the  work  of  the 
most  noted  philosopher  Pietro  Pomponazzo,  which 
denied  the  immortality  of  the  soul,"!"  thought  to  be  able 
to  preserve  the  Church  from  the  poison  of  unbelieving 
doctrine  by  conceding  to  its  future  ministers  hence- 
forth only  five  years'  study  of  the  Humaniora,  after 
the  lapse  of  which  they  were  to  apply  themselves  to 
the  sciences  of  their  profession.];  By  such  trifling 
measures  it  was  thought  at  Rome  that  the  dark 
spirit  could  be  exorcised  and  the  Church  protected 
and  reformed,  and  this  at  a  time  when  Luther  was 
already  delivering  his  enkindling  lectures  at  Witten- 
berg on  the  Psalms  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
and  already  experienced  in  himself  and  others  the 
movings  of  that  Spirit  to  which  God  has  ever  given 
the  power  of  reforming  the  Church  and  the  world. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  discover  the  slightest 

*  Hardt,  Acta  Condi.,  ix.  1719. 
t  Roscoe,  iv.  252. 
J  Hardt,  ix.  1719. 


56  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


hint,  either  in  Rome  itself  or  in  any  other  journeys 
which  we  have  undertaken,  as  to  the  course  of  the 
studies  pursued  by  our  young  friends  in  the  capital. 
The  single  point  of  certainty,  that  they  were  with 
the  uncle  in  Rome,  we  owe  to  a  passage  in  a  letter 
accidentally  lighted  on  ;  and  with  regard  to  their 
sojourn  of  about  fifteen  months,  we  are  limited  to 
presumptions  derived  from  this  side  of  the  intellectual 
life  of  the  city. 

The  last  twenty  years  had  not  been  favourable 
to  the  liberal  sciences  in  Rome.  A  breath,  pesti- 
lential for  all  sound  development  of  sober  science,  had 
proceeded  from  Alexander  VI.  Subsequently  indeed 
Julius  II.  had  shown,  after  his  manner  in  majestic 
style,  taste  and  intelligence  for  all  the  arts  of 
peace,  but  yet  he  loved  still  more  to  draw  the  sword 
for  the  liberation  of  Italy,  for  the  aggrandisement 
of  the  Ecclesiastical  States  ;  and  amidst  the  con- 
stant din  of  war  the  studies  could  not  flourish, 
since  these  call  for  quiet  and  composure.  The  favour- 
able time  dawned  at  length  under  the  polished  and 
brilliant  De  Medici  (Leo  X.).  From  the  beginning 
he  directed  all  his  interest  to  the  Gymnasium  founded 
in  Rome  seventy  years  before.  In  the  very  year 
of  our  young  students'  residence  in  Rome  this  in- 
stitute of  higher  learning  possessed  nearly  a  hundred 
professors  of  repute,*  who  delivered  lectures  on 
theology,  civil  and  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence, 
medicine,  ethics,  logic,  and  mathematics.  The  main 
attention  in  the  Gymnasium  was  at  that  time 
directed  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  language.  The 
renowned  John  Lascaris,  called  to  the  office  by  the 

*  Roscoe,  ii.  109. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      57 

Pope  immediately  on  his  accession,  presided  over 
the  Greek  college  in  Rome,  in  which  one  of  his 
most  distinguished  disciples,  Marcus  Musurus,  sub- 
sequently taught  at  the  invitation  of  the  Pope.  It 
is  certainly  to  be  supposed  that  our  youthful  friends 
attended  the  lectures  as  well  at  the  Gymnasium  as 
at  the  Greek  college  on  the  Esquiline  Hill,  the 
more  so  since  the  Pope  was  zealously  exerting  him- 
self by  the  conferring  of  privileges  and  immunities 
to  attract  pupils  to  the  institution,  to  whom  the 
professors  were  required  to  deliver  lectures  in  the 
morning  and  afternoon,  and  that  without  interruption 
by  the  numerous  festivals.  If  the  elements  of  the 
Greek  language  had  not  already  been  acquired  in 
Cracow,  abundant  opportunity  for  acquiring  the 
same  now  presented  itself ;  we  may  even  reasonably 
suppose  that  our  Johannes,  by  this  time  a  lad  of 
fourteen,  was  already  introduced  to  the  writings  of 
Plato,  specially  since  Musurus  had  in  1513  issued 
the  first  edition  of  his  works  from  the  press  of  the 
renowned  Manutius. 

How  gladly,  however,  would  we  pierce  the  taciturn 
obscurity  and  get  to  know  what  impression  the 
sojourn  in  Rome  produced  upon  these  susceptible 
young  spirits.  But  nothing  whatever  is  told  us  on 
this  point.  And  yet  it  was  a  stirring  time,  and  one 
profoundly  affecting  the  destinies  of  Rome,  this  eve 
of  the  Reformation,  in  which,  from  the  prevailing 
sultriness  of  the  atmosphere,  many  a  one  already 
anticipated  the  coming  storm.  Did  the  stay  there 
pass  away  entirely  without  a  trace  for  our  young 
Poles  ?  Did  they  receive  during  these  years  of  so 
great  susceptibility  an  afflatus  of  the  breath  which 
streamed  forth  from  the  art  there  celebrating  its 


58  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

triumphs  ?  Raphael  had  just  then  completed  his 
wondrous  masterpiece,  full  of  earnest  thoughtfulness, 
full  of  pure  beauty,  in  the  Camera  del  Segnatura  ; 
in  the  Sixtine  Chapel  the  scaffoldings  had  been 
removed,  and  the  astonished  glance  might  contem- 
plate unhindered  the  creations  called  forth  by  Michael 
Angela,  like  a  revelation  in  the  province  of  art.  To 
the  nephews  of  the  Primate  of  Poland  these  now 
hallowed  spaces  were  accessible  ;  did  they  listen 
in  rapt  enthusiasm  to  the  unique  language  in  which 
these  two  favoured  disciples  of  art  interpreted  the 
spiritual  life  of  man,  the  acts  of  God  as  made  known 
in  Scripture  ?  We  know  that,  with  a  fine  gift  for 
language,  the  three  scholars  quickly  acquired  the 
Italian  tongue.  And  what  impression  was  then 
made  upon  them  by  the  sweet  tones  of  a  Petrarch, 
or,  still  more,  by  the  majesty,  the  force,  the  sublime 
splendour  and  truth  of  a  Dante,  whose  expositor 
Ariosto  had  just  before  quitted  the  Eternal  City  ? 
Unhappily  we  receive  no  answer  to  these  and  so 
many  other  questions  which  crowd  upon  us,  and 
are  almost  tempted  to  suppose  that  the  young  men 
were  but  little  stirred  by  the  spirit  which  makes  us 
moderns  look  back  with  greater  longing  upon  those 
days  and  their  enjoyment  of  art,  than  was  ex- 
perienced by  many  of  the  contemporaries  themselves. 
If  this  conjecture  be  well  founded,  we  may  suppose 
that  our  Johannes,  in  his  childlike  spirit,  remained 
unmolested  by  all  the  godless  doings  which  in  those 
unbelieving  days  perhaps  nowhere  more  shamelessly 
displayed  themselves  than  under  the  eyes  of  the 
supposed  vicegerent  of  God.  No  passage  in  his 
later  writings  gives  rise  to  the  suggestion  that  at 
this  period  he  saw  and  heard  that  which  Luther 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      59 

witnessed  on  his  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  that  which 
in  the  narrative  of  Boccacio  induced  the  Jew  to  . 
undergo  baptism.  The  mysterious  veil  which  God 
Himself  places  over  the  eyes  of  youth  for  its  pro- 
tection may  have  concealed  from  the  lad  the  sight  of 
a  world  alienated  from  God,  in  which  the  ministers 
of  the  Most  High  were  just  those  who,  with  the 
greatest  effrontery,  held  up  to  ridicule  all  that  was 
sacred,  and  so  heaped  abomination  upon  abomination 
that  the  confession  was  drawn  forth  which  Luther 
in  that  very  place  once  heard  from  the  mouth  of 
papal  courtiers,  "  It  is  not  possible  this  should 
continue  longer  :  it  must  break  up."  * 

The  uncle  did  not  wish  his  nephews  to  complete 
their  studies  in  Rome.  For  Johannes  in  particular 
a  visit  to  the  neighbouring  world-famed  University 
of  Bologna  was  of  importance  for  the  prosecution  of 
his  studies  in  ecclesiastical  law.  The  Primate  himself 
was  compelled  to  attend  for  a  while  longer  the 
sittings  of  the  council,  and  to  perform  the  many  and 
very  difficult  commissions  entrusted  to  him  from  his 
native  land  to  be  fulfilled  at  the  papal  court  (which 
for  months  in  succession  showed  itself  unfavourable 
to  the  wishes  of  Poland),  now  alone,  since  as  early 
as  the  end  of  the  year  1513  his  companion,  the 
Castellan  of  Kalisch,  had,  at  the  King's  command, 
journeyed  to  Spain,  and  thence  had  returned  direct 
to  his  own  country.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year 
I  5  1 4,j"  John  Braniczki,  the  tutor  of  the  young  men, 


*  Luther,   Works  0/(Erlangen  Edition),  Ixii.  435. 

+  Perhaps  we  might  place  the  time  as  late  as  the  middle  of 
October,  since  the  beginning  of  the  lectures  to  the  Decretists 
in  Bologna  was  fixed  for  the  day  after  St.  Luke's  (iqth 
October). 


60  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

received     instructions     to     remove     with     them     to 
Bologna. 

The  distinguished  party  required  four  days  to 
reach  Bologna  from  Rome,  probably  by  way  of  the 
pass  of  Furlo.  They  would  travel  slowly  by  a  route 
that  presented  so  much  worthy  of  notice  on  these 
breezy  days  of  the  later  autumn. 

2.  IN  BOLOGNA. 

The  first  few  days  of  their  sojourn  at  Bologna  were 
spent  by  our  friends  in  the  public  hostelry,  until 
they  could  find  a  dwelling  suitable  to  their  require- 
ments. Some  letters,  accidentally  lighted  upon, 
afford  us  an  attractive  glimpse  of  the  quiet  life  of 
study  of  these  our  young  friends  in  that  city. 

We  see  first  certain  new-comers  entering  the 
circle  of  our  old  -acquaintances.  In  May,  1514,  the 
Archbishop  had  sent  his  marshal,  Niclwlas  Wolski, 
Castellan  of  Sochawczew,  a  man  very  faithfully 
attached  to  him,  and,  moreover,  afterwards  related  by 
marriage,  to  the  King  of  Poland  with  an  important 
message.  In  the  autumn  (8th  September)  the  Polish 
general  Constantine  of  Ostrorog  inflicted  a  crushing 
defeat  upon  the  Russians,  under  the  Grand  Duke 
Wassilij  Ivanovitch,  at  Orsza.  With  this  victory,  too, 
the  affairs  of  Poland  at  the  papal  court  took  a 
favourable  turn,  as  Laski  at  once  began  to  experience 
in  his  negotiations.  It  was  in  truth  a  victory  not 
only  over  the  threatening  foe  of  the  distant  Poland  : 
for  Rome  it  was  still  more  a  victory  of  the  faithful 
son  of  the  Romish  Church  over  the  schismatic.  In 
the  joy  of  his  heart,  and  with  a  view  to  maintain 
the  favourable  sentiment  in  Rome,  the  King  sent  the 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      61 

Archbishop's  marshal  with  a  number  of  captive 
Russian  nobles,  to  make  them  a  present  to  the  Pope. 
A  royal  letter  of  safe  conduct  was  to  afford  to  the 
Castellan  of  Sochawczew  protection  on  the  journey 
to  Rome  for  himself  and  his  somewhat  singular 
gift  to  the  Pope.  In  Vienna  they  were  in  no 
humour  for  regarding  the  letter  of  safe  conduct  ;  the 
victory  at  Orsza  had  thwarted  the  policy  of  Austria, 
and  in  annoyance  thereat  they  detained  Wolski  and 
his  prisoners  at  Hall,  near  Innsbruck.  The  Polish 
ambassador  indeed  was  permitted  to  resume  his 
journey  to  Rome  without  molestation  ;  but  the 
chains  were  taken  off  the  ten  prisoners,  and  they 
were  sent  back  by  way  of  Lubeck  to  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Moscow,  in  order  in  this  way  at  least  to 
give  expression  to  the  uneasy  feeling  at  the  un- 
expected issue  of  the  battle.  In  Rome  this  procedure 
of  the  Kaiser  was  by  no  means  approved.  Leo  X., 
in  a  letter  to  Maximilian,  which  arrived  a  little  too 
late,  demanded  the  surrender  and  forwarding  of 
the  prisoners  ;  and  the  Fathers  assembled  at  the 
council,  with  the  Pope  at  their  head,  celebrated  the 
brilliant  victory  of  Poland  as  a  victory  of  the  Church 
over  the  heterodox.* 

The  favourable  occasion  of  the  journey,  which 
followed  the  route  by  way  of  Bologna,  was  turned  to 
account  for  convoying  a  few  students  to  our  friends  : 
first,  the  youngest  brother,  Stanislas,  who  was  now 
thought  by  his  father  old  and  matured  enough  to 
pursue  his  studies  in  Bologna.  With  him  arrived  at 
the  same  time  a  brother  of  that  Johannes  as  to 
whose  family  and  connection  with  the  lineage  of 

*  Compare  Tomzciana,  iii.  7,  333. 


62  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Korab  we  are  still,  as  before,  in  ignorance  ;  he  too, 
Stanislas  by  name,  like  his  brother,  was  a  student 
at  the  charge  of  the  Archbishop.  Further,  Wolski 
brought  with  him  two  young  sons  of  the  family 
Radziwill,  Stanislas  and  Johannes ;  they  had  al- 
ready dwelt  a  while  at  Vienna,  and  now  were  to 
prolong  their  studies  in  Italy.  The  teacher  of 
Stanislas,  Matthias,  who  probably  had  superintended 
the  studies  of  the  young  Laski  left  behind  alone  in 
his  father's  castle,  had  likewise  come  with  them,  and 
now  remained  in  Bologna.  Thus  the  little  household 
consisted  often  persons:  the  three  nephews,  the  two 
Radziwills,  the  two  distant  relations  ;  in  addition  to 
these  the  tutor  Braniczki,  the  teacher  Matthias,  just 
referred  to,  and  a  physician  of  the  same  name,  whom 
the  thoughtful  uncle  had  appointed  to  the  pupils 
entrusted  to  his  care.  It  is  remarkable  that 
another  distant  kinsman,  bearing  the  arms  of  Korab, 
Matthias  Slywnicki,  who  was  at  that  time  in 
Bologna  for  the  purpose  of  studying  Roman  law, 
probably,  too,  at  the  Archbishop's  charges,  was  not 
received  at  the  round  table  of  common  entertainment ; 
perhaps  that  teacher  Matthias  and  this  Slywnicki 
were  one  and  the  same  person,  made  in  this  brief 
account  to  sustain  two  characters,  according  as  he 
was  occupied  as  teacher  or  learner.  The  Archbishop 
even  in  -after-years  valued  very  highly  this  excellent 
gift  of  learning,  which  abundantly  repaid  to  him  the 
sacrifices  made  for  its  cultivation.  As  Doctor  of 
Laws  (Utriusque  Juris  Doctor],  Slywnicki  became 
Canon  of  Gnesen,  archdeacon  at  Kalisz,  and,  lastly, 
Laski's  chancellor  and  provost  of  Posen,  and  by  his 
scientific  labours  contributed  no  little  to  the  super- 
seding of  the  Magdeburg  law  in  Poland. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      63 

Braniczki  commends  the  young  men  to  the 
Archbishop  as  being  very  industrious  and  virtuous 
(adolescentes  studiosissimi  et  virtuosi  sunt).  A  great 
zeal  for  the  acquisition  of  learning  animates  the 
two  nephews,  who  are  attached  to  each  other  in 
heartfelt  love.  What  the  one  wishes  to  learn,  the 
other  also  will  learn,  although  now,  owing  to  their 
different  branches,  of  study,  they  must  follow  separate 
paths.  In  point  of  ability  Jerome  surpasses  them 
all  ;  he  merits  without  qualification  the  encomium 
of  a  very  gifted  youth.  Concerning  his  beloved 
brother,  our  Johannes,  the  testimony  is  given,  that 
he  is  his  tutor's  dearest  pupil,  a  youth  of  the  highest 
integrity.  Braniczki  declares  he  has  never  seen 
such  an  one,  and  gives  utterance  to  the  wish  that 
a  long  life  may  be  granted  him  :  "  Carissimus 
dominus  Joannes  nepos  R.  P.  tuae,  ibi  est  summa 
virtus,  nunquam  vidi  hujus  modi  puerum  ;  utinam 
esset  longe  vivens."  This  is  the  first  direct  testi- 
mony we  have  been  able  to  obtain  concerning 
our  hero  ;  it  touches  that  chord  of  his  nature 
which  lifelong  has  given  forth  such  a  pure  entrancing 
note,  a  note  which  a  decade  later,  as  a  most  sweet 
resonance  of  home,  affected  with  deep  longing  the 
innermost  soul  of  a  man  like  Erasmus,  to  which 
we  shall  ourseives  more  than  once  in  the  following 
pages,  when  in  full  maturity  the  noble  form  shall 
come  nearer  to  us  in  word  and  deed,  listen  with 
delight.  Nor  did  this  nobility  and  charm  of  dis- 
position, which  >o  early  proceeded  in  a  surprising 
manner  from  tli.:  youth,  exert  its  influence  upon 
those  only  who  ame  in  contact  with  him  for  the 
first  time  :  equal :v  did  it  exert  this  upon  the  nearest 
occupants  of  th ,-  house,  who,  in  the  intimacy  of 


64  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


a  common  life,  received  undisturbed  the  same  agree- 
able impression  from  the  moral  purity  of  this 
personality.  After  the  two  brothers  had  been 
separated  for  a  time  Jerome  wrote  to  his  uncle  from 
Bologna :  "  When  I  met  my  beloved  brother 
Johannes  again  here,  I  became  a  new  man  ;  by  him 
all  my  weariness  of  life  was  driven  far  away,  all 
tedium  disappeared,  and  all  delight  in  labour  returned 
with  him  in  enhanced  degree.  He  has  augmented 
the  stores  of  his  mind  and  his  knowledge,  which 
he  has  manifested  in  discourse  of  prose  and  verse, 
and  that  far  beyond  the  measure  of  other  young 
men,  during  his  sojourn  in  Germany;  he  has  certainly 
not  idled  away  his  time  and  counted  the  sand, 
but  has  read  and  listened  to  the  most  distinguished 
authors.  One  cannot  but  admire  the  power  of 
memory,  the  perseverance,  the  gravity  \constantia  et 
severitas\  with  which  the  youth  is  inspired,  so  that 
we  are  all  filled  with  respect  and  reverence  for  him 
\ut  eum  omnes  facile  timemus  et  veneramur\  ;  *  one 
thing  we  most  earnestly  implore,  that  many  years 
of  life  may  be  granted  to  him.  I  do  not  make 
this  boast  of  him  as  my  brother,  but  rather  as 
a  good  and  most  honourable  young  man,  with  whom, 
so  long  as  we  are  together  here,  I  will  advance 
in  common  in  the  good  arts  with  all  the  power 
of  my  manhood."  That  the  brother  also,  in  like 
manner  as  the  preceptor,  does  not  suppress  the  wish 
for  long  life  to  this  rare  youth,  inspires  us  with  the 
apprehension  that  the  bodily  sufferings  with  which 

*  If  I  might  recall  to  memory  a  theologian  of  the  nineteenth 
century  who  also  from  youth  up  compelled  the  same  reverential 
homage  for  his  person,  the  noble  form  of  my  ever-to-be-re- 
membered tutor,  Nitzsch,  presents  itself  to  my  mind.  Compare 
Beyschlag,  Karl  Immanuel  Nitzsch  (Berlin,  1872),  p.  7. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      65 

we  see  the  overtasked   man   afterwards  visited  may 
have  thus  early  made  their  appearance. 

But  we  must  return  to  our  scholar  and  his  studies 
at  the  seat  of  the  Muses  in  Bologna. 

As  Poles  our  youthful  students  were  counted 
to  belong  to  the  University  of  the  Ultramontani, 
which,  in  opposition  to  the  University  of  the  Citra- 
montani,  consisted  of  scholars  from  eighteen  different 
non -Italian  nations,  and  enjoyed  as  such  full  civic 
rights,  together  with  the  great  privileges  which 
Bologna,  in  opposition  to  the  Sorbonne,  conceded  to 
the  scholars.  For  in  Bologna  the  students  from 
ancient  time  formed  the  Corporation,  and  elected  the 
heads  thereof  from  their  own  midst  ;  the  tutors  were 
subject  to  them.*  Originally  only  a  twofold  School 
of  Law,  there  were  added,  as  early  as  the  beginning 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  an  Art  School  for  the 
Philosophers  and  Medical  Men,  and  further,  as  a 
fourth  High  School,  the  Theological  School,  founded 
by  Innocent  VI.  in  the  second  half  of  the  same 
century,  which  by  a  peculiarity  was  constituted  after 
the  model  of  the  Sorbonne,  so  that  in  it  not 
the  scholars,  but  the  professors,  formed  the  Cor- 
poration. Alike  in  the  School  of  Law  as  in  the 
School  of  Arts  and  that  of  Theologians  had  our 
Johannes  to  attend  lectures,  since,  in  the  first  place, 
the  humanistic  studies  had  not  yet  come  to  a 
close  ;  and  then  the  further  studies,  on  canonical  law 
and  that  which  the  theological  faculty  afforded,  were 
superadded. 

Unhappily  we  cannot  accompany  our  young  priest 
in  his  professional  studies  at  Bologna.     All  attempts 

0  Cf.  thereon  Savigny,  Geschichte  des  Romischen  Rechts 
im  Mittelalter  (Heidelberg,  1816),  Hi.,  p.  141. 

5 


66  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


to  get  into  a  right  track  there,  for  presenting  us  with 
a  picture  of  the  theological  studies  of  that  time,  have 
proved  failures.  It  would  not  have  been  an  attrac- 
tive picture  ;  the  student  certainly  could  not  in  those 
days  draw  any  enthusiasm  for  his  "  precious  office  " 
(i  Tim.  iii.  i)  from  the  theological  lectures,  which 
were  limited  almost  entirely  to  the  knowledge  of 
canonical  law.  Cochlceus,  in  after-years  so  bitter  an 
opponent  of  Luther,  and  exerting  himself  with  more 
than  importunateness  to  guard  the  far-ofif  Poland 
against  the  poison  of  the  Reformation,  was  then 
living  in  Bologna  for  the  sake  of  his  studies  ;  after 
the  lapse  of  only  a  short  time,  he  was  already  weary 
of  his  theological  pursuits  at  the  University.  To  his 
benefactor,  the  renowned  Wilibald  Pirkheimer,  in 
Nuremberg,  whose  nephew  he  accompanied  as  tutor 
to  Bologna,  he  describes  the  condition  of  the  theologic 
studies  in  his — certainly  a  little  overdrawn  and 
altogether  too  peevish — elegiac  epistle  :  "  It  is  a 
misery  to  be  occupied  here  with  the  sacred  science, 
without  a  tutor,  without  books,  without  resources. 
The  lectures  are  delivered  by  pitiable  monks  ;  with 
them  I  will  not  lose  my  time  :  they  are  nothing  but 
sophists  ;  they  chase  after  shadows.  I  attend  no 
lectures,  therefore,  but  keep  myself  shut  up  at  home."* 
Like  complaints  are  uttered  with  regard  to  the 
teachers  of  canonical  law.  The  most  learned  of 
them  has  no  teaching  gift  ;  the  other  speaks  so  low 
that  he  cannot  be  understood  ;  the  third  is  so  learned 
that  he  often  digresses  to  the  most  extraneous  sub- 
jects ;  a  fourth  is  a  twaddler  ;  a  fifth  a  young  man 
without  information. 

*  Heumann,  Documenta  litteraria  (Altdorfii,  1758),  p.  12. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      67 

If  we  abate  somewhat  from  the  arrogant  and  dis- 
dainful judgment  of  the  German,  prejudiced  as  he  is 
against  the  Italians,  there  is  still  left  a  residuum 
which  is  confirmed  from  other  quarters.  The  theolo- 
gical studies  were  in  those  days  far  outstripped  by 
the  humanistic.  While  in  the  latter  a  new  life  was 
awakening,  like  the  shaking  and  moving  which  the 
prophet  beheld  when  he  looked  upon  the  dry  bones; 
while  here,  in  a  beauty  unimagined  before,  the  world 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  arose  as  from  a  grave 
before  the  intoxicated  vision,  and  all  the  intellectual 
activity  of  the  contemporaries  was  directed,  as  with 
gigantic  power  and  almost  spasmodic  energy,  to  the 
raising  of  this  so  wonderful  treasure  ;  theology,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  fallen  behind  and  moved  on  in 
the  primitive  ruts,  untouched  by  all  that  which,  like 
an  earthquake,  stirred  the  hearts  of  contemporaries 
to  their  depths,  drifting  along  in  an  almost  guile- 
less way,  without  a  single  foreboding,  towards  the 
point  at  which  its  miner's-candle  of  scholasticism  is 
extinguished  by  the  gust  of  the  new  age. 

Precisely  such  old  renowned  universities  as 
Bologna  are  readily  exposed  to  the  temptation  of 
clinging  rigidly  to  that  which  is  traditional.  It  may 
have  been  monks  who  piled  up  around  the  esta- 
blished dogmas  this  infinite  series  of  questions,  of 
reasons  and  counter-reasons,  of  definitions,  distinc- 
tions, syllogisms,  and  corollaries,  as  the  autumn  wind 
covers  a  grave  with  withered  leaves  ;  but  such  afflic- 
tion must  have  been  unendurable  to  a  youthful  spirit, 
which  had  already  for  years  past  breathed  in  the 
clear,  pure,  bracing  air  of  the  ancient  authors,  two- 
fold affliction  at  a  time  when  in  all  the  domains  of 
life  a  new  movement  was  astir,  and  scholasticism 


68  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

likewise,  in  more  than  one  place,  manifested  the 
germs  of  dissolution.  Even  the  papal  edict,  which 
the  uncle  had  read  a  year  before  to  the  assembled 
Fathers  of  the  council,  had  proclaimed  a  rupture  with 
the  essential  character  of  scholasticism,  however 
much  it  is  the  case  that  this  edict  is  still  penetrated 
by  the  self-consciousness  which  animated  scholasti- 
cism in  its  palmy  days,  and,  under  the  impulse  of 
this  feeling,  simply  decrees  that  which  one  feels 
one's  self  too  weak  to  prove.  The  name  of  only 
one  theologian,  at  whose  lectures  our  scholar  was 
certainly  wont  to  attend,  have  we  been  able  to 
discover  ;  it  is  Chrysostomus  Casalenus.  Leo  X.  had 
permitted  Peter  Pomponatius  to  write  a  defence  of 
his  work,  already  mentioned,  on  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  only  on  condition  that  this  professor  at 
Bologna  should  add  oppositions  thereto  and  print 
them  along  with  it.  Unfortunately  we  could  not 
find  this  treatise  (defensorium) .  Apart  from  the 
interest  inspired  by  such  a  sic  et  non  writing  (2  Cor. 
i.  1 8),  issued  as  it  was  at  the  papal  command,  and 
shedding  great  light  upon  the  spirit  of  the  time,  the 
book  would  have  been  further  valuable  as  enabling 
us  to  form  a  conception  of  the  master  at  whose  feet 
our  Laski  sat. 

For  the  exposition  of  Holy  Scripture  Bologna 
also  possessed  a  professor's  chair ;  but  for  a  long 
time  past  this  important  branch  had  become  de- 
generated or  overgrown  into  an  exposition  of  the 
exposition,  in  which  the  subtlety  of  the  prevalent 
theologic  tendency  found  a  wide  and  pleasant  field 
for  running  riot,  now  indeed  no  longer  an  authority 
entirely  unquestioned.  As  early  as  1516  there 
appeared  in  Genoa  a  psalterium  in  four  languages  ; 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD,      tg 

two  years  before  this  the  first  volume  of  the  great 
Complutensian  Bible  of  Cardinal  Ximenez  had  already 
appeared,  with  a  dedication  to  Pope  Leo  X. ;  and 
Erasmus'  Greek  edition  of  the  New  Testament  was 
already  in  the  hand  of  many  in  Italy.  The  book 
was  read  and  explained,  like  so  many  another  newly 
discovered  Greek  author,  as  we  should  say  from  a 
purely  philological  point  of  view,  without  measuring 
the  full  range  which  this  study  would  so  soon  have 
over  there  beyond  the  mountains.  Men  began  also 
to  read  the  Old  Testament  in  the  original  language. 
They  might  appeal  in  favour  of  this  step,  so  far 
as  Bologna  was  concerned,  to  that  ordinance  of 
Clement  V.  at  the  Council  of  Vienne  (1311),  accord- 
ing to  which  six  professors  of  the  Oriental  languages 
were  to  be  appointed,  to  this  university  among 
others,  not  in  order  to  render  possible  to  the  clergy 
an  understanding  of  the  Scripture  in  the  original 
tongue,  but  in  order  to  form  skilled  champions 
against  Jews  and  Mohammedans.  This  ordinance  had 
become  almost  forgotten  in  the  course  of  time.  But 
now,  the  same  year  in  which  our  friends  went  to 
Bologna,  Theseus  Ambrogius — a  sort  of  Mezzofanti 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
acquainted  with  eighteen  languages — was  appointed 
by  the  Pope  Professor  of  Oriental  Literature.*  We 
know  positively  that  our  young  theologian  did  not 
avail  himself  of  the  favourable  opportunity  thus 
afforded  him,  for  it  was  almost  a  decade  later  that 
he  learnt  the  Hebrew  ;  the  Archbishop  might 
naturally  conjecture  that  but  little  profit  was  to  be 
derived  from  the  knowledge  of  this  language  for  the 

0  Roscoe,  ii.  151. 


7o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


career  which  he  designed  to  open  to  his  favourite 
nephew  in  the  Church  of  his  native  land. 

A  special  activity  prevailed  during  the  residence 
of  our  friends  at  Bologna  in  the  province  of  philo- 
sophy, in  which  province  a  quick-sighted  eye  might 
even  then  have  seen  that  spirit  most  astir  which 
brought  to  a  close  the  mediaeval  period,  and  power- 
fully furthered  for  Italy  its  transformation  into  the 
form  of  the  Renaissance.  We  can  hardly  suppose 
that  our  young  theologian  remained  at  this  early 
period  unmoved  by  the  working  of  this  spirit.  Until 
then  Aristotle  and  his  dialectics  had  dominated  the 
thought  of  men  through  the  centuries,  exerting  an 
influence  such  as  certainly  no  other  far-famed  philo- 
sopher had  ever  exerted.  The  researches  of  the 
Humanists  had  brought  to  light  fresh  writings  of 
the  master,  which  considerably  extended  the  circle 
of  their  knowledge.  Specially  since  the  fall  of 
Constantinople  (1453)  had  an  acquaintance  with  the 
writings  of  Plato  likewise  become  widely  diffused  in 
Italy  ;  and  so  many  a  "  Platonic  academy  "  attested 
the  enthusiastic  affection  cherished  for  this  world- 
famed  sage.  Both  heroes  of  the  intellect  found  their 
ardent  admirers,  not  at  first  in  a  sense  mutually 
exclusive,  but  the  longer  the  time  that  elapsed  the 
sharper  became  the  accentuation  of  the  difference. 
There  is  certainly  a  diverse  tendency  of  mind  in  the 
two  Dioscuri,  that  primeval  divergence  which  was 
also  manifested  in  the  most  vigorous  days  of  scholas- 
ticism. In  Bologna  itself  main  representatives  of 
the  two  tendencies  were  then  engaged  in  teaching. 
Alexander  Achilinus,  himself  a  Bolognese,  who  died 
in  his  native  town  in  1518,  exerted  considerable 
power.  Ritter  judges  of  him  that  his  philosophical 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      71 


writings  still  bear  altogether  the  stamp  of  scholas- 
ticism, and  concede  to  the  renowned  Averroes  a 
great  influence  upon  his  investigations.*  But  yet 
doubt  as  to  the  soundness  of  its  propositions  already 
obtrudes.  Achilinus  walks  in  the  ways  of  a  Duns 
Scotus  ;  he  espouses  Realism  again;  Aristotle  speaks 
to  him  in  this  sense.  Side  by  side  with  him  there 
was  teaching  at  the  University  in  those  years  the 
Peter  Pomponatius  already  several  times  mentioned, 
still,  it  is  true,  involved  in  scholastic  tenets,  but  yet 
more  decidedly  accessible  to  doubt.  Through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  well-known  Platonist  Ficinus, 
he  became  familiarised  with  Plato's  writings  ;  he 
suspects  indeed  that  the  two  famous  sages  do  not  in 
all  respects  agree  ;  but  there  is  wanting  to  him  the 
earnest  impulse  of  truth  for  following  up  the  differ- 
ence and  surrendering  himself  to  the  consequences 
so  important  for  that  age.  Pomponatius  often  in 
Bologna  engaged  in  a  scientific  contest  with  Achilinus. 
"  It  is  related  that  they  measured  themselves  with 
each  other,  and  the  former  sought  by  means  of  witty 
turns  to  escape  the  force  of  the  scientific  arguments 
which  the  latter  knew  how  to  urge." 

It  would  be  a  great  satisfaction  if  we  could  only 
discover  now  whether  these  intellectual  conflicts  and 
scientific  endeavours  exerted  any  influence  upon  the 
development  of  our  friend,  and  if  so,  of  what  kind. 
But  all  effort  to  come  upon  the  track  of  farther  in- 
formation as  to  his  course  of  study  at  Bologna 
proved  in  vain  ;  and  it  remained  to  us  only  to  make 
the  modest  attempt,  above  presented,  to  combine  in 

*  Ritter,  Geschichte  der  Philosophic  (Hamburg,  1850),  ix., 
p.  382  seq. 
t  Ritter,  ibid,,  p.  427. 


72  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

one  the  sparse  notices,  as  regards  so  many  questions 
unsatisfactory  in  their  nature,  which  lie  scattered 
here  and  there.  We  are  enabled  therefrom  at  least 
to  recognise  the  nature  of  the  influence  under  which 
Laski  was  brought — or  perhaps,  to  express  ourselves 
more  cautiously,  may  have  been  brought — during  his 
stay  in  Bologna  in  connection  with  his  theological 
studies. 

Nor  does  our  young  theologian  seem  to  have 
found  any  particularly  excellent  models  in  the 
preacher's  office  at  the  High  School.  We  are 
again  led  to  fall  back  upon  the — as  it  seems  to  us, 
exaggerated — statements  of  Cocklaus,  as  he  lashes 
the  style  of  preaching  with  the  following  drastic 
strokes  :  "  Most  of  the  fast  preachers  are,  if  I  may 
so  say,  rather  buffoons  or  declamatory  strolling 
players  than  preachers,  than  apostles,  than  Augustines. 
While  many,  surpassing  each  other  in  a  foolish 
manner  in  gesticulations  and  in  voice,  think  they  are 
imitating  Paul  or  Cicero,  they  yet  speak  and  act  only 
hypocritically  to  the  people.  Is  it  to  be  wondered 
at  that  they  accomplish  nothing  in  this  manner  ? 
When  they  wish  to  be  passionate,  they  gallop 
through  the  discourse  without  observing  a  comma  ; 
to  and  fro  they  move  their  heads  like  crows,  spring 
up,  run  about  the  pulpit  here  and  there,  cry  out,  fight 
with  their  arms,  turn  their  backs  upon  the  congrega- 
tion, specially  when  they  pray  for  the  congregation 
to  the  little  crucifix  standing  behind  them  ;  outwardly 
they  weep,  inwardly  they  laugh  and  please  them- 
selves infinitely."* 

Not  entirely  undisturbed  by  external  things    did 

*  Heumann,  p.  10. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      73 

the  student  years  at  Bologna  pass  away.  A  few 
events  must  also  have  projected  themselves  into  the 
quiet  life  of  our  familiar  friends.  For  the  most 
part  they  lived  a  life  of  retirement.  In  order  to 
attach  his  pupils  to  their  home,  Braniczki  had 
obtained  a  pair  of  guitars,  with  the  art  of  playing 
upon  which  the  Radziwills  and  Laskis  were  not 
unacquainted  ;  a  passage  from  a  letter  of  our  friend 
in  later  time  to  Beatus  Rhenanus  shows  that  he 
heartily  loved  music,  and  was  no  stranger  to  a 
theoretic  knowledge  of  it.  But  the  position  of  the 
families  of  our  young  Polish  nobles  in  their  native 
land  was  too  distinguished  to  admit  of  their  being 
able  to  spend  their  days  unobserved  in  the  city  of 
the  Muses,  intent  only  upon  their  studies.  The 
Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Bologna,  Achilles  de  Grassis, 
was  protector  of  Poland  at  the  papal  see,  and  the 
uncle  maintained  a  continual  familiar  intercourse 
with  this  exalted  personage,  an  acquaintance 
which  assuredly  also  served  the  nephews  in  good 
stead. 

As  is  well  known,  Leo  X.  held  in  1516  the  re- 
nowned and  momentous  interview  with  Francis  /. 
in  Bologna.  From  the  time  of  the  glorious  victory 
of  the  chivalrous  hero  and  King  at  Marignano,  the 
Pope  was  obliged  to  take  every  step  for  entering 
into  friendly  intercourse  with  the  victor  ;  the  meet- 
ing at  Bologna  was  to  give  its  expression  to  these 
endeavours.  Great  privileges  were  here  granted  to 
the  French  king.  The  Pragmatic  Sanction,  subject 
of  so  much  controversy,  was  indeed  annulled  ;  but  the 
most  important  privileges  and  immunities  conveyed 
by  it  were  renewed  by  a  special  Act,  which  then 
became  the  basis  of  the  "  freedom  of  the  Gallican 


74  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


Church."  These  days  were  of  importance  for  the 
subsequent  career  of  our  Johannes,  from  the  fact  that 
here,  as  we  strongly  suspect,  the  acquaintance  of  the 
younger  brother  Stanislas  with  the  King  of  France 
was  formed,  by  whom  brought  about  we  have  not 
the  material  for  learning.  Upon  many  a  name  we 
might  fix  by  conjecture  ;  of  what  avail  would  it  be, 
so  long  as  we  could  arrive  at  no  certainty  ? 

A  few  weeks  after  this  august  meeting  serious 
collisions  had  arisen  among  the  Bolognese  students 
between  the  different  nationalities.  The  Germans 
turned  out  against  the  Lombards  ;  quickly  the 
young  fiery  blood  had  recourse  to  the  sword,  to  the 
unwieldy  musket ;  for  two  days  the  fierce  turmoil 
lasted  on  the  streets.  On  the  side  of  the  Germans 
were  ranged,  among  other  nationalities,  also  the 
Hungarians  and  the  Poles.  Whether  our  chivalrous 
Poles,  too,  expert  as  they  were  in  the  handling  of 
weapons,  betook  themselves  to  the  sword,  we  cannot 
say  ;  at  any  rate,  however,  they  heard  in  these  stormy 
days  a  manly  German  knight,  as  advocate  of  the 
Germans,  and  thus  also  of  the  Poles  allied  with 
them,  vigorously  represent  before  the  partial 
governor  the  injustice  done  to  them  ;  it  was  no  less 
a  man  than  Ulrich  von  Hutten*  We  have  not 
met  with  any  hint,  either  in  Laski  or  Hutten,  which 
might  lead  to  the  supposition  of  a  mutual  personal 
acquaintance  between  the  two  during  their  con- 
temporaneous stay  in  Bologna.  Numerous  as  are 
the  points  of  contact  which  might  be  discovered  in 
the  character  of  the  two  men,  equally  far-reaching 

*  Compare  the  account  which  Hutten  furnishes  to  Erasmus 
m  the  standard  edition  of  Hutten' s  works  by  Booking,  i. 
146. 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.      75 

are  the  differences,  and   in  particular  on  that  point 
from  which  a  radiant  light  falls  upon  the  pure  form 
of  our  Laski,    who   was   likewise  younger  by   more 
than  a  decade  than  the  errant  German  knight.     The 
mention   of  Hutten's  name  gives  rise  for  us  to  the 
question    whether  indeed  the    lightning-flash    pene- 
trated to  the  dwelling  of  our  Poles  which  proceeded 
from  the  "  Letters  of  Obscure  Men  "  (first  issued  at 
that   time),*    and   flamed   with   bright   glare    in    the 
whole  intellectual  horizon,  the  incomparable  note  of 
the  morning,  telling  that  a  deep  dark  night  is  past, 
and,  in  the  victorious  wit  of  Humanism,  that  dawn 
is  breaking,  which   announces  a  new  and  fairer  day. 
In    the   composition    of   the    second    part   of   these 
letters  Hutten  had  a  considerable  share, "f"  and   that 
while  he  was  at  Bologna.      With  the  portraits  of  the 
letter-writers    the  German    hero   had    become  suffi- 
ciently acquainted  during  his  travels  and  journeyings 
through    Germany ;  and    if   the    features     of    these 
obscure  men  had   paled  for  him  in  the  sunny  Italy, 
Rome    and    Bologna   could    furnish    him    with  sub- 
stitutes, for   these  obscure  men   wandered  homeless 
throughout  the  world ;  their  form  met  one  in  Cologne 
as  well  as  in  Bologna,  with  a  Latinity  which  ever  and 
anon   reminds  of   the  German   of    the  Polish  Jews, 
like  the  Jews  too,  an  errant  people,  without  a  native 
land,  and  with  a  jargon  half  dead,  half  living.      When 
we  call  to  mind  the  description  of  the  fast  preachers, 
as  given  us  by  CocJdaus,  and  consider  what  a  deep 
impression    this   appearance    made  upon  Hutten   in 

*  "  Epistolae  Obscurorum  Virorum."  See  Sir  William 
Hamilton's  Discussions  on  Philosophy  (1852),  p.  204,  etc. 

t  For  the  proof  see  Strauss,  Ulrich  von  Hutten  (Leipsic, 
1858),  i.,  p.  266  seq. 


76  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Bologna,  with  his  overflowing  wit,  his  talent  for 
satire,  methinks  it  is  as  though,  clothed  with  flesh 
and  blood,  they  stared  upon  us  in  Hutten's  letters. 

The  summer  of  1516  was  oppressively  hot.*  It 
appears  that  our  Johannes,  who,  as  already  indicated, 
was  not  of  very  robust  health,  was  driven  away  by 
the  burning  heat  to  more  northerly  regions.  The 
great  holidays  of  six  weeks'  duration  began  indeed 
in  Bologna  only  on  the  day  of  Mary's  nativity  (/th 
September)  ;  j"  but  Johannes  may  well,  on  account 
of  the  extreme  heat  and  his  suffering  condition  of 
body,  have  closed  his  studies  earlier,  and  have 
prepared  for  a  journey  to  the  cooler  north.  At  any 
rate,  we  refer  to  this  summer-time  the  notice  in  the 
letter  of  Jerome  lying  before  us  in  manuscript, 
which  unhappily  contains  neither  day  nor  year  of 
its  composition,  and  in  which  we  have  found  the 
beautiful  expression  of  joy  at  the  return  of  the 
beloved  brother.  As  to  what  parts  of  Germany 
were  visited  in  this  journey,  what  important  person- 
ages he  became  acquainted  with,  nothing  can  be 
learnt,  despite  all  researches  made. 

The  residence  in  Bologna  was  hastening  to  an 
end.  In  most  cases  strangers  remained  three  years 
at  the  University.  So  greatly  had  this  become  the 
custom  that  every  scholar  had  the  right  to  remain 
three  years  in  his  dwelling,  during  which  time  the 
owner  of  the  house  could  not  give  him  warning.^ 
Our  Poles  did  not  remain  their  full  triennium.  The 
uncle  had  left  Rome  as  early  as  the  first  days  of 
August,  1515;  and,  after  a  brief  stay  in  Vienna  and 
then  with  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Gran,  had 

*  Heumann,  p.  9.  f  Savigny,  iii.  232. 

I  Ibid.,  p.  185 


THE  FIRST  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD. 


made  his  entry  into  Cracow,  where  the  prelates  and 
prebendaries  had  received  him  in  state  at  the  gate 
of  the  city  nearest  to  the  Wawel.  For  the  support 
of  his  nephews  and  students  at  Bologna,  he  had 
deposited  sufficient  money  with  the  banking-house 
of  the  Fnggers  in  Rome.  He  had  continued  in 
uninterrupted  lively  intercourse  with  them  ;  in  the 
year  1517  he  recommends  in  his  testament  his 
nephew  Johannes,  student  at  Bologna,  to  his  successor 
in  the  archiepiscopal  see.  He  speaks  of  him  as 
possessing  a  studious,  devout,  and  grateful  spirit.* 

In  the  following  year  a  disconnected  passage  in 
this  same  testament  occasions  us  surprise.  It  may 
belong  to  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  the  incident 
relate  to  the  close  of  15  17.  "  Our  nephew  Johannes 
has,  in  consequence  of  I  know  not  what  error, 
persuasion,  or  occasion,  withdrawn  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  Bologna  ;  nor  do  I  know  whither  he  has 
repaired.  I  fear  that  I  shall  be  involved  in  costs 
from  this  business."t  Our  Johannes  cannot  have 
been  long  absent  from  Italy ;  for  it  was  in  the 
spring  of  i  5  i  8  that  he  was  excommunicated  at  Rome. 
His  cousin,  Martin  Rambiewski,  it  must  be  known, 
had  drawn  a  bill  in  Rome  for  six  hundred  and 
seventy  gulden  in  the  name  of  our  Johannes,  of 
which  the  latter  knew  nothing.  Rambiewski  seems 
to  have  fallen  into  somewhat  doubtful  society  in 
Rome,  and  to  have  laid  out  more  money  in  country 
pleasures  and  the  purchase  of  expensive  pictures 
than  his  means  admitted,  and  so,  pressed  by  his 
creditors  and  led  astray  in  an  evil  moment,  to  have 
had  recourse  to  the  expedient  hazardous  in  itself, 

*  Zeissberg,  Johannes  Laski  u.  sein  Testam.,  p.  679. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  689. 


;g  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

and  fraught  with  such  serious  consequences  for  our 
Johannes*  Since  the  latter  was  unable  to  pay  the 
sum,  of  the  borrowing  of  which  he  had  no  suspicion,  on 
the  day  on  which  it  fell  due,  he  was  visited  with  the 
punishment  usual  in  similar  cases,  until  such  time 
as  the  uncle  had  cancelled  the  debt  on  behalf  of  his 
innocent  nephew,  f  For  the  punishment  of  such 
offences  at  that  time  in  Rome  excommunication 
was,  as  we  may  well  say,  abused.  It  was  degraded 
to  a  simple  measure  of  police,  a  sort  of  arrest  for 
debt,  without  any  further  disagreeable  consequences, 
even  for  a  priest,  so  soon  as  the  occasion  was 
removed.  In  this  light  also  the  uncle  looked  upon 
the  punishment.  In  a  pretty  detailed  letter  to  his 
king,  in  which  he  touched  upon  this  case  too,  he 
says,  "  Many  clergy  as  well  as  laity  in  high  position 
have  already  been  visited  with  this  punishment, 
without  its  being  possible  on  that  account  to 
designate  them  as  bad  men.  Often  even  have 
emperors  and  kings  been  laid  under  this  penalty, 
without  any  kind  of  stain  being  attached  to  them 
thereby."  J 

And  upon  our  Johannes,  too,  it  inflicted  no 
stigma,  specially  since  he  suffered  it  so  undeservedly. 
When  also  in  after-years,  upon  a  much  more  serious 
occasion,  he  drew  down  upon  himself  the  punish- 
ment of  expulsion,  albeit  unpronounced,  it  was  yet 
powerless  to  hurt  his  character,  or  by  such  imperious 
decision  of  the  Church  to  separate  him  from  his 
Lord  and  Saviour. 

*  Compare  also  Tomiciana,  vii.  23. 
+  Zeissberg,  p.  701. 
\  Tomiciana,  vi.  68. 


IV. 

A  T  HOME  A  GA  IN. 

AFTER  an  absence  of  five  years,  our  Joliannes 
returned  to  his  native  land.  We  have  accom- 
panied him  on  his  student  travels,  and  have,  so  far 
as  the  obscurity  of  the  history  has  not  obliterated 
all  traces,  followed  his  footsteps.  Wherever  a  happy 
fate  has  granted  us  to  look  him  more  closely  in  the 
face,  we  recognise  the  same  charming  traits  of  the 
youth  who,  pure  and  severe  in  morals,  goes  his  way 
with  cheerful  heart  ;  whom  his  high  descent,  his 
powerful  kindred,  do  not  release  from  earnest 
studies  ;  who  employs  his  time  as  one  who  has  to 
rely  only  upon  his  own  exertions  for  his  advance- 
ment. We  should  on  so  many,  many  points  have 
been  glad  of  more  perfect  knowledge  of  his  course 
of  study,  in  order  perhaps  to  see,  already  standing 
before  the  eyes  of  the  youth  in  these  days,  and  in 
his  habit  of  thought,  the  goal  which  the  man  after- 
wards apprehended  with  such  firm  hand.  We  were 
obliged  to  content  ourselves  with  such  small  results 
from  researches  widely  extended.  Whether  more 
fortunate  and  thorough  investigations  would  afford 
us  fuller  insight  into  the  development  of  the  inner 
life  of  our  hero  is  questionable,  because  that  age  is 


80  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


only  too  niggardly  for  our  wishes    in  its  communi- 
cations with  regard  to  such  mental  conditions. 

What  proofs  of  his  maturity  for  entering  upon 
his  chosen  calling  Laski  brought  home  from  the 
University,  we  know  not.  Perhaps  we  have  not  to 
set  down  this  ignorance  exclusively  to  the  sparse- 
ness  of  the  communications  made  to  us.  Examina- 
tions in  the  sense  of  our  anxious,  careful  age  were 
not  then  required  in  order  to  pass  the  threshold  of 
official  dignities  and  burdens.  The  examination 
for  the  obtaining  of  the  title  of  licentiate  or  that 
for  doctor  of  canon  law  Laski  did  not  undergo  in 
Bologna,*  probably  because  he  was  not  disposed 
to  undergo  it,  inasmuch  as  his  prospective  mode  of 
life  lay  in  another  direction,  in  which  he  could  dis- 
pense with  such  dignities.  It  was  of  service  to  him 
only  to  have  resided  for  a  certain  time  at  a  dis- 
tinguished university  for  the  pursuit  of  his  studies. 
How  these  years  were  then  actually  employed 
mattered  not  much,  specially  if  one  enjoyed  the 
protection  of  influential  personages.  This  aid  was 
certainly  not  wanting  to  the  son  of  a  distinguished 
palatine,  nephew  of  the  Primate  and  Archbishop  of 
Gnesen  ;  and  the  first  ripened  fruits  of  such  a 
relationship  had  already  fallen  into  his  lap  before 
he  had  crossed  the  frontiers  of  his  native  land.  Of 
so  many  reproaches  made  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Gnesen  by  his  many  and  decided  opponents,  who 
were  for  the  most  part  envious  of  him,  there  is  not 
one  which  has  a  greater  amount  of  foundation  than 
when  he  is  accused  of  nepotism  in  availing  himself 


*  The  requirements  for  a  degree  are  described  by  Savig-ny 
iii.  193. 


A  T  HOME  A  GA  IN.  8 1 

of  his  exalted   position   to  advance  his  relatives   in 
their  career. 

The  uncle,  as  already  related,  had  returned  to 
Poland  from  the  Lateran  Council  in  1515,  loaded 
with  tokens  of  personal  favour  on  the  part  of  the 
Pope  and  of  recognition  of  his  exalted  position. 
Among  other  marks  of  honour,  he  was  himself  as 
the  first,  and  each  of  his  successors  in  the  archiepis- 
copal  see  in  turn,  appointed  a  legatus  natus,  a  high 
distinction  granted  only  to  a  few  bishoprics,  and  one 
which  at  the  same  time  invests  the  occupant  for  the 
time  being  of  the  archiepiscopal  throne  with  the 
rank  and  dignity  of  a  papal  nuncio,  who  as  such 
also  has  direct  communication  with  the  pope  and 
the  ruler  of  the  land.  The  kindly  Archbishop  was 
not  slow  to  raise  his  nephew  to  the  first  round  of 
the  ladder  to  whose  topmost  round  he  had  himself 
climbed,  and  which  he  was  minded  one  day  at  his 
death  to  yield  up  to  the  much-promising  young 
man.  Even  while  the  scholar  was  pursuing  his 
studies  in  Bologna,  he  made  him  canon  (canonicus) 
at  the  Collegiate  Institute  in  Leczyc,  the  principal 
town  of  the  palatinate  of  the  same  name,  in  which 
the  father  held  the  dignity  of  palatine  from  the 
year  1506  to  this  year  of  the  appointment  of  his 
son  as  canon  (1517).  The  son  will  assuredly  not 
have  resided,  any  more  than  the  father  had  done, 
in  this  unwholesome  place,  surrounded  on  every 
side  by  swamps.  On  the  3Oth  of  December,  1517, 
a  further  and  higher  rank  was  added.  The  young 
man,  who  was  preparing  for  his  homeward  journey, 
was  nominated  coadjutor  to  the  Dean  of  Gnesen.* 

*  According   to    the    excerpts    from   the    "  Acta    Capit. 

6 


82  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

And  it  seemed  as  though  even  yet  sufficient  honours 
were  not  placed  upon  the  youthful  head,  which  was 
still  in  Bologna,  bending  over  the  folios  of  canonical 
law.  In  the  same  fateful  year  in  which  the 
hammer-strokes  on  the  Castle-church  at  Wittenberg 
reverberated  with  such  powerful  and  lasting  effect 
through  the  whole  edifice  of  the  church,  Leo  X. 
granted  to  the  youth  of  hardly  eighteen  years  the 
title  to  the  custodianship  of  Leczyc,  and  in  addition 
to  this  the  canonicate  of  Cracow  and  Flock.* 
Enough  benefices,  truly,  for  one  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career ! 

The  securing  of  the  papal  ratification  to  these 
offices  for  his  nephew  was  not  accomplished  by  the 
uncle  on  moderate  terms.  We  are  hardly  any 
longer  surprised  or  astonished  when  we  unexpectedly 
light  upon  an  out-of-the-way  passage  in  which  we 
find  the  charges  for  such  a  commission  at  the  papal 
see  of  those  days  entered  with  an  innocence  as  great 
as  though  it  had  only  been  a  question  of  the 
purchase  of  a  sheep  :  in  Rome  everything  was 
disposed  of  for  money  in  those  days  ;  and  only  he 
who  paid  the  price  obtained  the  simoniacal  wares. 
"Fourteen  hundred  gulden" — so  the  careful  uncle 
enters  in  his  testament  under  the  year  1 5 1 7 — 
"  changed  into  a  thousand  gold  gulden,  have  I  sent 
to  Rome  for  the  prosecution  of  the  business  re- 
garding the  custodianship  of  Flock  and  Leczyc. 
My  marshal,  Nicholas  Wolski,  knows  the  order" 
\prdinem  ;  probably  the  word  indicates  among  what 
series  of  officials  and  in  what  gradation  the  sum  has 

Gnesn."  very  kindly  furnished  to  me  by  the  Canon  Koryt- 
kowski. 

*  Theiner,  Vetera  monumenta  Polom'ce,  ii.,  p.  378. 


AT  HOME  AGAIN.  83 


to  be  divided]  "  of  distribution  of  this  thousand 
gulden  ;  and  this  is  made  in  the  interest  of  my 
nephew  Johannes."  * 

The  benevolence  of  the  uncle  was  not  restricted 
to  the  providing  with  these  benefices.  It  was 
necessary  to  place  abundant  means  at  the  disposal 
of  the  nephew,  in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to 
live  in  a  style  becoming  his  position.  Even  the 
income,  however,  from  the  posts  just  mentioned — for 
the  demands,  already  made  upon  young  ecclesiastical 
princes  at  that  time,  amply  balanced  a  great  revenue 
piled  up  from  accumulated  posts — did  not  suffice  for 
the  reckless  liberality,  the  free,  large-hearted  hos- 
pitality which  is  natural  to  the  Pole,  and  at  all 
times  has  distinguished  his  n'obles,  but  has  also  at 
all  times  seriously  damaged  him,  and  that  not  in  the 
domain  of  property  alone.  It  was  necessary  to  open 
further  sources  of  revenue. 

The  archbishops  of  Gnesen  had  great  possessions 
in  the  palatinate  of  Rava,  in  Masovia,  specially  in 
Lowicz  and  Squiernievice,  towns  which  belonged 
to  them,  and  in  which  they  held  fortified  castles.f 
The  income  derived  from  these  extensive  properties 
was  not  small.  As  early  as  the  year  1517  the 
uncle  leased  out  the  two  properties  to  the  Bishop 
of  Chelm,  Nicholas  Koscxielcczky,  and  to  his  nephew 
John,  while  the  latter  was  still  in  Bologna,  for  two 


*  Zeissberg,  p.  676. 

t  For  information  acquired  or  tested  on  the  spot  respecting 
two  of  the  Archbishop's  seats,  Lowicz — "  Archiepiscopi  Gnezn. 
sedes,  cujus  arx  in  mediis  paludibus  sita  est" — and  Squire- 
nievice  (Skiernievice) — "  Ubi  Archiep.  Gnezn.  palatium  habet" 
— Dalton's  own  work  must  be  consulted.  The  last-named 
locality  is  now  famous  as  the  meeting-place  of  the  three 
emperors,  September,"  1884. — TR. 


84  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

thousand  gulden  a  year  ;  and  when,  in  the  following 
year,  the  Bishop  died,  the  liberated  portion  of  the 
property  was  leased  to  the  chapter  of  Gnesen.  Thus 
also  provision  was  made  for  securing  to  the  beloved 
nephew  an  income  for  his  subsistence  ;  so  that  his 
career  even  in  this  respect  began  under  the  most 
favourable  conditions.* 

In  after-years,  when  our  Johannes  walked  in  the 
light  of  the  Gospel,  and  found  his  highest  glory  in 
being  a  poor  but  faithful  servant  of  his  poor  and 
faithful  Master,  his  eye  was  open  and  clear  to 
perceive  the  deep  injury  which  the  Church  has 
suffered  from  such  distribution  and  accumulation  of 
her  spiritual  offices.  It  is  but  a  small  consolation  in 
connection  with  such  glaring  failures  that  in  this 
case  so  much  distinction  in  such  immature  years 
was  not  bestowed  upon  one  unworthy  of  the  office. 
That,  however,  the  youthful  Canon  of  Cracow  and 
Plock,  who,  from  the  time  of  his  ordination  as  priest 
in  1521,  had  been  advanced  from  his  position  of  a 
mere  coadjutor  in  Gnesen  to  be  the  actual  dean  of 
the  metropolitan  church  there,  must  have  been 
approved  among  his  companions  in  the  spiritual 
office  and  have  drawn  upon  himself  the  eyes  of  the 
chapter,  is  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  took 
part,  as  representative  of  the  metropolitan  cathedral 
chapter  at  Gnesen,  in  the  Provincial  Synod  at 
Petrikow  in  1521.  He  did  not  owe  to  his  kinship 
with  the  Archbishop  alone  a  mission  of  so  great 
honour  ;  the  distinguished  chapter  aimed  at  being 
represented  on  such  an  occasion  by  a  learned 
and  able  person.  The  protocols  of  the  synod  I 

*  Zeissberg,  p.  689. 


AT  HOME  AGAIN.  85 

have  not  at  hand.  Of  the  mighty  reformatory 
movements  which  had  been  agitating  Germany 
for  nearly  four  years  past,  not  a  ripple  had  yet 
reached  the  distant  shore  of  this  synod  ;  not  until 
the  following  year  does  there  resound  in  the  as- 
semblies an  echo  of  that  which  had  already  pene- 
trated into  so  many  a  baronial  castle  of  Poland, 
so  many  a  citizen's  dwelling  in  its  towns.  Other 
questions  stirred  the  hearts  in  this  provincial  synod 
too,  among  these  that  of  a  war  contribution,  in 
which  the  clergy  likewise  were  to  take  part.  The 
arduous  conflicts  with  the  German  order  of  knights, 
although  crowned  with  success  for  Poland  hitherto, 
were  not  yet  fully  brought  to  a  close ;  at  a  con- 
vention at  Bromberg  (it  is  the  Polish  Bidgostid]  on 
the4th  of  December,  I  520,  the  amount  of  contribution 
was  fixed.*  The  Archbishop  had  complied  with 
this  injunction,  and  indeed  as  early  as  March  had 
sent  his  nephew  and  dean,  Johannes,  with  six 
hundred  gulden  to  Thorn,  where  the  King  was 
holding  his  court  at  the  time.'j' 

But  in  Poland,  too,  that  spirit  was  moving  which 
in  the  Reformation  made  its  procession  through 
all  lands.  We  have  not  to  accompany  its  course 
through  that  land  ;  our  task  imposes  narrower  limits 
upon  our  recital.  The  way  for  the  Reformation 
here  too  was  prepared  by  many  a  precursor's  labour, 
mediately,  as  everywhere  else,  by  so  many  open  and 
manifest  disorders  under  which  the  Church  and  her 
ministers  were  suffering  in  a  terrible  degree  ;  in  this 

*  Tomtciana,  v.  338.  On  the  events  of  the  war  see  Voigt, 
Geschicte  Preussens  .  .  .  bis  zum  Untergang  dcs  Dcutschen 
Ordens  (Konigsberg,  1838),  ix.,  p.  575  seq. 

+  Tomiciana,  v.  366. 


86  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

land,  the  movement  was  supported,  too,  by  the  pious 
and  serious  mind  which  animated  the  people  and 
not  a  few  of  the  ablest  and  most  prominent  re- 
presentatives of  its  nobility.  To  many  another 
mediate  preparatory  work,  having  its  basis  in  the 
peculiar  relations  of  that  land  in  which  the  Hussite 
movement  still  continued  to  quiver,  we  have  already 
referred  in  the  introduction. 

Nor  was  there  wanting  immediate  contact.  How 
was  this  to  be  avoided,  considering  the  high  position 
which  Poland  occupied  in  the  council  of  the  nations 
in  those  days,  and  the  love  of  travel  on  the  part 
of  the  nobility,  who  sent  their  sons  by  preference 
to  foreign  universities  ?  At  an  early  period  Polish 
youths  were  to  be  found  in  Wittenberg  also,  among 
the  hundreds  of  students  that  flocked  thither  out 
of  the  lands  of  all  princes.  In  addition  to  this, 
we  have  to  take  into  account  the  strong  German 
element,  which  gave  the  tone  in  almost  all  the 
cities,  especially  of  Greater  Poland,  and  preserved 
a  lively  sympathy  with  all  that  was  taking  place 
in  the  old  home-land.  Dantsic  became  the  advanced 
post  of  this  movement  in  the  Polish  territory.  As 
early  as  1518  the  Dominican  monk  Jacob  Knade 
raised  his  manly  voice  there  against  the  abuses 
of  the  Church  ;  with  firm  courage,  lie  frees  himself 
from  the  vows  of  his  order,  and  is  one  of  the  first 
monks  to  take  a  wife.  The  excitement  enkindled 
by  him  communicated  itself  quickly  to  the  whole 
town,  flashed  over  to  the  other  German  sister-towns 
of  Poland  :  Thorn,  Posen,  Elbing,  Braunsberg  ;  like 
fiery  beacons  blaze  wherever  the  burning  language 
of  a  bold  preacher  of  the  Gospel  touches  the  in- 
flammable material  so  abundantly  present  in  the 


AT  HOME  AGAI^.  87 

towns.  Already  the  Polish  bishops  observe  the 
portentous  sign  of  conflagration  here  and  there, 
and  have  a  foreboding  of  danger.  One  of  the  earliest 
notes  of  warning  on  their  part  is,  I  believe,  the  letter 
of  the  renowned  Vice- Chancellor,  Peter  Tomiczki, 
to  the  Castellan  of  Posen  and  Captain-General 
of  Greater  Poland.*  But  yet  how  little  does  this 
bishop  of  Posen  know  of  the  true  ground  and  reach 
of  this  movement ;  how  little  does  he  know  of  the 
feeling  of  Lucas  von  Cork  a  when  he  writes  to 
him,  "  I  hear  that  the  Lutheran  sect  is  spreading 
[pullulare]  from  day  to  day  in  the  district  of  Posen, 
and  is  doing  all  with  impunity.  Your  Magnificence 
will  perceive  how  destructive  this  poison  is,  since 
such  proceedings  spring  not  from  virtue,  but  from 
shamelessness ;  .  .  .  such  evils  come  about  if  we 
do  not  resist  the  beginnings."  In  Cracow,  the 
Bishop  alleges,  the  Palatine  has,  in  association  with 
the  citizens  and  clergy,  diligently  and  with  great 
effort  suppressed  these  excesses.  He  cannot  under- 
stand why  the  forbidden  books  are  suffered  to  pass 
with  impunity  from  hand  to  hand  in  Posen  ;  and 
people  see  how  in  the  churches  unbridled  and 
blasphemous  discourses  are  held,  which  presently 
find  their  ready  echo  in  the  ale-houses  and  social 
meetings. 

The  letter  of  the  Vice-Chancellor  was  a  precursor 
of  the  severe  measures  to  which  the  Government 
roused  itself  in  the  following  year,  when  the  thunder- 
clouds of  the  Reformation  gathered  ever  more 
threateningly  in  the  land.  The  edict  of  the  King, 
which  appeared  in  the  summer  of  1523,  likewise 

*  Tomiciana,  vi.  87. 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


bears  distinct  indications  that  the  counsellors  of 
Sigismund  did  not  even  then  understand  the  nature 
of  the  Reformation,  and  therefore  urged  the  King 
to  measures  at  the  povverlessness  of  which  for  the 
attainment  of  the  end  in  view  we  cannot  suppress 
a  smile.  The  King,  certainly  animated  by  a  devout 
spirit,  wishes  to  preserve  his  land  undefiled  and 
uninfected  by  the  plague  which  rages  in  the  neigh- 
bouring territory.  He  fancies  he  will  yet  succeed 
in  doing  so  by  means  of  a  strict  prohibition  of  the 
introducing  of  writings  of  the  Reformation  ;  and 
to  this  end  he  appoints  a  sort  of  inquisitional 
tribunal,  before  which  all  matters  relating  thereto 
are  to  be  brought,  and  to  which  the  right  is 
conceded  of  making  a  search  in  every  house  after 
such  heretical  books.  Proceedings  of  unwonted 
severity  are  threatened  against  the  possessors  of 
such  books,  the  disseminators  of  such  heretical 
errors.  A  glance,  however,  at  the  result  of  these 
measures,  which  threatened  the  transgressor  with 
death  and  the  confiscation  of  all  his  possessions, 
reminds  us  of  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  that  too 
much  sharpening  notches  the  knife. 

The  clergy,  disturbed  in  their  comfortable  existence 
by  the  strange  occurrences  in  the  neighbouring  land, 
approved  of  such  measures,  and  credited  them  with 
the  necessary  force.  So  also  the  man  who  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  Polish  Church.  We  must  confess 
that  the  Archbishop  during  a  long  and  brilliant  career 
in  Church  and  State  had  become  too  much  of  an 
ecclesiastical  politician  for  being  able  to  acquire  in 
the  evening  of  his  life  an  appreciation  of  the  ideas 
of  the  Reformation.  That  which  reached  him  with 
regard  to  it  on  his  exalted  seat  appeared  to  him, 


AT  HOME  AGAIA7.  89 

the  ecclesiastical  prince,  as  a  revolutionary  renuncia- 
tion of  the  obedience  due  to  the  Church,  and  there- 
with, according  to  his  firm  conviction,  to  the  Head 
of  the  Church,  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  For  such  mis- 
deed no  punishment  could  appear  to  him  too  severe. 
Presently  after  the  issue  of  the  royal  edict,  in  which 
we  assuredly  hear  the  voice  of  the  mighty  Primate 
resounding,  he  summoned  the  clergy  to  a  synod  in 
Leczyc  (/th  October,  1523),  at  which  the  notorious 
Bull  of  Leo  X.,  "  Exsurge  Domine,"  against  Luther, 
and  the  royal  manifesto,  were  taken  as  the  standard 
in  accordance  with  which  the  council  "rejects  and  con- 
demns (excommunicamus  et  anathematizamus]  every 
heresy  which  lifts  up  its  head  against  the  holy, 
orthodox,  and  catholic  faith,  and  against  the  Roman 
Church,  in  particular  the  heresy  which  has  proceeded 
from  Luther  and  Hus."  Yes,  if  such  lordly  decisions 
and  anathematisings  were  able  to  quench  the  Spirit 
which  proceeds  from  God. 

Our  JoJiannes  was  no  longer  present  when  this 
synod  met.  Not  that  he  would  have  intentionally 
withdrawn  himself  from  such  heresy-hunting  doings. 
We  have  no  reason  whatever  for  supposing  that  in 
those  days  he  had  already  severed  himself  from  the 
views  of  his  uncle,  or  looked  with  other  eyes  than 
those  of  the  main  representatives  of  his  Church  upon 
the  movement  which  was  accomplishing  itself  in 
foreign  lands.  That  goad  had  not  yet  been  pressed 
into  his  heart  against  which  a  Saul  of  Tarsus  found 
himself  too  weak  to  struggle.  He  was  in  full  career 
ascending  the  ladder  of  ecclesiastical  preferment. 
Hardly  had  he  been  made  Dean  of  Gnesen,  and 
therewith,  even  in  his  twenty-fourth  year,  attained  to 
the  highest  post  of  the  chapter,  before  the  uncle  was 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


meditating  new  and  higher  dignities  for  the  nephew 
and,  as  he  hoped,  successor.  On  the  22nd  of 
September,  1522,  the  Bishop  of  Plock,  Erasmtis 
Ciolek,  one  of  the  bitterest  opponents  of  the  Arch- 
bishop, on  account  of  whom  he  had  a  few  months 
before  appealed  in  a  worthily  composed  letter  of 
vindication  to  the  King,  had  died.  Almost  a  year 
passed  away  without  this  important  post  being  filled 
up  ;  differences  had  arisen  between  the  Pope  and  the 
King  of  Poland  with  regard  to  the  appointment. 
The  Archbishop  sought  during  the  General  Conven- 
tion at  Cracow  in  the  summer  days  of  1523  to 
induce  the  King  to  select  the  nephew  as  coadjutor 
of  the  bishopric  of  Plock.  That  seemed  to  the  King 
to  be  too  much  for  one,  of  however  great  promise, 
who  was  still  so  young.  While  refusing  to  his 
primate  this  request,  he  agreed  to  use  his  influence 
with  the  Pope  by  a  letter,  to  the  end  that  at  the 
next  nomination  the  provostship  of  Leczyc  might  be 
bestowed  upon  the  nephew.* 

All  these  distinctions  were  not  able  to  bind  the 
young  man  to  the  land  ;  no  ambition  now  impelled 
him  to  distinguish  himself  on  the  spot,  and  rapidly 
to  climb  the  further  steps,  at  a  time  when  everything 
in  his  native  land  seemed  to  be  disposed  in  his 
favour.  He  was  strongly  attracted  again  to  foreign 
lands.  The  reason  for  this  feeling  is  not  clear. 
Certainly  the  life  passed  abroad  some  years  before 
had  inspired  him  with  a  longing  for  the  refreshing 
intercourse  of  men  who,  themselves  standing  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  humanistic  movement,  had 
kindled  in  him  the  love  for  those  studies,  the  desire 

*  Compare  thereon  the  spiteful  account  of  Krzycki  (Tomt- 
ciana,  vi.  292). 


AT  HOME  AGAIN.  91 

for  a  closer  community  of  life  with  themselves.  But 
there  was  also  much  in  his  own  land  which  was 
beyond  doubt  likely  to  repel  him,  and  to  banish 
him  from  a  society  in  which  he  was  able  to  trace 
only  too  clearly  the  odious  machinations  of  vulgar 
intrigue.* 

If  the  opportunity  was  afforded  to  our  Johannes, 
who  in  those  years  was  living  for  the  most  part  in 
Cracow — and  how  should  the  opportunity  be 
wanting  to  him  ? — for  obtaining  an  insight  into  the 
meanness  of  disposition  in  many  a  prominent  eccle- 
siastic, whose  doings  in  truth  powerfully  drew  the 
Church  towards  a  reformation,  we  cannot  be  surprised 
that  he  should  wish  to  be  removed  from  such 
surroundings,  and  longed  for  a  while  again,  far  from 
all  hateful  commotion,  to  breathe  the  pure  atmo- 
sphere of  humanistic  studies  and  enjoy  the  society  of 
men  whom  he  could  look  upon  with  esteem. 


*  Amongst  the  most  unscrupulous  opponents  of  the  Arch- 
bishop at  this  period  is  to  be  mentioned  Peter  Tomiczi, 
Bishop  of  Cracow  and  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  who 
had  formerly  been  on  terms  of  friendship  with  the  Primate. 
Tomiczi  was  ably  seconded  in  his  designs  by  the  ambitious 
Andreas  Krzycki,  then  Provost  of  Posen,  and  soon  after  Bishop 
of  Przemisl,  to  whom  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  more 
than  once. 


V. 

THE   OTHER    STUDENT  TRAVELS  ABROAD. 

r  I  "'HEY  were  warm  days,  in  every  sense,  at  the 
-i-  time  of  the  diet  which  was  held  in  Cracow 
during  June  and  July,  1523.  The  time  of  assem- 
bling had  been  somewhat  delayed  on  account  of  the 
pest  which,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  had  shown 
itself  in  Cracow.  The  question  of  the  filling  up  of 
the  bishopric  of  Plock,  which  was  among  those  dis- 
cussed on  the  sultry  summer  days  at  Cracow,  could 
not  yet  be  brought  to  a  settlement ;  the  Primate 
encountered  much  vexatious  opposition.  In  serried 
ranks  the  powerful  adverse  party  was  ranged  against 
him  ;  even  from  the  King  indeed  he  could  not,  as 
was  his  wont,  obtain  the  wished-for  concessions. 
On  this  occasion,  too,  as  in  so  many  following  con- 
ventions, the  Lutheran  heresy  had  appeared  in  the 
negotiations,  like  an  awe-inspiring  spectral  form. 
The  heresy,  spreading  ever  more  and  more  widely, 
began  to  press  like  a  heavy  nightmare  upon  the 
spirit  of  many,  the  longer  the  more  heavily,  because 
no  good  conscience  supplied  the  needed  counteractive, 
and  ignorance  as  to  the  real  ground  of  the  movement 
led  to  fear  of  its  destructive  operation  upon  a 
domain  which  was  unreal.  Spiritual  and  secular 
councils  discussed,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Arch- 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     93 

bishop,  the  measures  to  be  taken  against  this  spread- 
ing pestilence,  against  which  they  were  disposed  to 
proceed  with  the  same  inexorable  decision  with 
which  in  the  present  day  we  take  action  against,  for 
instance,  the  plague.  With  almost  juvenile  ardour 
did  the  venerable  ecclesiastical  prince  join  in  the 
debates  on  this  obstinate  movement,  conducted  as 
these  were  with  Polish  animation,  although  the 
movement,  in  spite  of  the  peremptory  decisions  of 
the  previous  year,  still  refused  to  be  consigned  to 
repose.* 

Now  the  reaction  from  the  overstrained  labour  had 
set  in.  The  exhausted,  and  withal  somewhat  irritated, 
old  Bishop  had  urgent  need  of  recreation.  Hardly 
had  the  termination  of  the  sittings  arrived,  when  he 
hastened  from  the  close  and  stifling  atmosphere  of 
the  town,  to  spend  the  oppressive  autumn  days  in 
the  shady  park  of  his  manor  [at  the  now  famous] 
Squiernievice.  Here,  in  the  quiet  of  the  country,  and 
in  pleasant  seclusion,  was  also  once  more  taken  in 
hand  that  testament  the  contents  of  which  in  not  a 
few  places  possess  the  attractive  value  of  a  diary. 
Under  the  date  of  the  i  /th  of  August  "j"  we  find  the 
entry  made,  that  his  nephew  the  Dean  cherishes  the 
intention  of  repairing  anew  to  Italy  for  the  purposes 
of  study.  The  nephew  seems  not  to  have  been  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  uncle,  so  that  he  was  unable  more 
fully  to  unfold  his  intention  to  him.  Let  us  then 
attempt  to  do  so  for  ourselves. 

The  favourite  brother  of  our  Johannes,  Jerome, 
with  whom  he  had  shared  a  common  education,  had 
studied  together  in  Rome  and  at  Bologna,  had,  as 

*  Tomtctana,  vi.  291.  t  Zeissberg,  p.  692. 


94 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


we  have  said,  devoted  himself  to  the  career  of  a 
statesman.  A  high  natural  endowment,  which 
within  a  few  years  already  proved  him  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  polished  statesmen  of  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  the  influential  position  of  his  own  family, 
further  augmented  by  his  marriage  with  the  noble 
Anna  Koscielecka,  of  the  wealthy  and  distinguished 
house  of  the  Rituani,  had  early  opened  the  way  for 
this  nephew  of  the  Polish  primate  to  a  brilliant  and 
distinguished  career.  As  early  as  1520  he  was 
appointed  royal  carver.*  The  very  next  year  we 
meet  with  him  as  already  Polish  ambassador  at  the 
court  of  Charles  V.  in  Brussels,  in  the  following 
year  in  like  capacity  at  Cologne.")"  Gladly  did  the 
King  avail  himself  of  the  accomplished  young 
patrician,  so  well  versed  in  foreign  languages,  and  in 
all  respects  so  morally  excellent,  for  his  missions  to 
different  courts,  in  growing  measure  for  the  most 
difficult  ones,  such  as  were  furnished  by  the  very 
perplexed  condition  of  European  affairs  in  that  day, 
wherein  the  voice  of  Poland  was  of  such  decisive 
weight.  Such  difficult  commission  of  his  king 
brought  the  skilled  diplomatist  to  Paris  and  Rome 
in  the  spring  of  1523,  one  year  after  he  had  been 
made  captain  of  Inowlaclaweck.J  Laski  was  fully 
conscious  of  the  difficulty  of  the  commission  entrusted 
to  him  ;  the  youthful  statesman  in  both  places 
modestly  urges  that  he  is  exercised,  it  is  true,  in  the 
use  of  arms,  but  not  dexterous  in  the  wielding  of  the 
pen.J  In  Rome  it  was  a  question  of  maintaining 
the  ancient  rights  of  the  Polish  crown  as  regards  the 

*  On  the  significance  of  this  post  compare  Cromer,  p.  508. 
t  Zeissberg,  p.  606  ;  and  Cromer,  p.  517. 
\  7omta'ana,  vi.  212. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     95 

filling  up  of  the  bishoprics  before  a  Hadrian,  who 
only  in  the  previous  year  had  succeeded  Leo  A'.,  and 
sought  earnestly  and  uprightly  to  preserve  intact, 
at  a  very  difficult  time,  the  rights  of  the  Church, 
assailed  on  every  side.  At  the  court  of  Francis  I.  the 
fall  of  Rhodes  was  to  be  turned  to  account  for  paving 
the  way  to  a  peaceful  co-operation  of  Poland  and 
France  ;  and  in  the  event  of  success  advantage  was 
to  be  taken  of  this  approximation  for  privately 
sounding  the  possibility  of  drawing  more  closely  the 
prospective  bond  of  alliance,  by  means  of  a  marriage 
union  between  the  two  royal  families.* 

Jerome  appears  to  have  returned  from  his  embassy 
during  the  summer  of  the  year,  and  to  have  been 
present  at  the  General  Convention.  In  the  latter 
autumn  it  became  necessary  to  follow  up  still  farther 
the  thread  of  negotiations."]"  This  time  Rome  was 
not  again  touched  ;  the  charge,  however,  was  given  to 
the  royal  messenger  to  repair  also  to  the  court  of  the 
Emperor.  This  course  was  taken,  it  may  be,  in  order 
to  divert,  or  even  remove,  any  rising  suspicion  in  con- 
nection with  the  lively  intercourse  between  Poland 
and  France.  Charles  V.  was  at  that  time  in  Spain  ; 
thus  the  ambassador  of  the  King  of  Poland  could, 
without  exciting  much  attention,  either  on  his  going 
or  return  take  the  great  high-road  through  Paris  to 
the  Pyrenees.  Travelling  in  the  suite  of  a  royal 
ambassador  had  in  those  days  in  more  than  one 
respect  a  seductive  charm  ;  even  the  protection 


*  Tomiciana,  pp.  207,  214. 

t  I  infer  the  twofold  journey  to  France  within  a  year  from 
the  fact  that  in  a  notice  pertaining  to  the  instruction  of  the 
ambassador,  Isabella,  Duchess  of  Milan,  is  spoken  of  as  dead ; 
her  death  took  place  only  at  the  close  of  1523. 


96  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

thereby  afforded  in  strange  lands,  on  the  insecure 
highways,  in  which  so  many  "  roaming  people  " 
wandered  about  aimless  and  without  means,  was  not 
to  be  lightly  esteemed.  There  was  consequently  no 
need  of  any  long  persuasion  on  the  part  of  the  am- 
bassador to  induce  his  two  brothers  to  make  the 
journey  in  his  company. 

i.  FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  BASLE. 

When  our  three  Polish  friends  left  Cracow,  and 
by  what  route  they  set  out  upon  their  long  journey, 
is  not  clear  to  us.  We  unexpectedly  meet  with 
them  at  a  remote  spot  on  their  way.*  At  the  end 
of  December,  1523,  or  beginning  of  January,  1524, 
we  find  the  brothers,  still  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
journey  to  the  Emperor,  staying  in  Basle,  and  there 
in  familiar  converse  with  Erasmus.  The  great 
Humanist,  who  was  in  those  days  in  a  particularly 
angry  mood,  because  he  had  been  publicly  called 
a  second  Balaam,  connects  the  origin  of  this  very 
offensive  appellation  with  the  visit  of  these  Poles. 
With  Jerome  Erasmus  had  already  been  acquainted 
in  Brussels,  and  now  they  saw  each  other  frequently. 
One  day,  as  they  are  chatting  in  the  library  of 
the  great  scholar,  the  conversation  turns  upon  the 
simple  preacher  who  has  now  for  some  years  kept 
the  world  in  a  state  of  excitement.  The  Pole  is 
carried  away,  with  all  the  ardour  of  his  nature,  against 
Lutlter ;  the  impressions  of  the  General  Convention 
at  Cracow  are  still  fresh  in  his  mind  ;  he  has  perhaps 
observed  that  his  king  is  surely  not  quite  so  much 
in  earnest  to  proceed  with  the  same  resolution  in 

*  In  Booking,  Ulrichi  Hutteni  Opera,  ii.,  p.  399. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     97 


the  extirpation  of  the  Lutheran  heresy  in  his  lands, 
as    the    Hotspurs    of   the    diet.      It    seems    to    the 
diplomatist  of  importance  to  be  able  to  appeal  before 
his  king   to   the   equally  unfavourable  judgment   of 
the   man  to  whose  weighty  voice  pope  and  emperor 
and   king   were   wont   to   give   heed.      But    on    this 
point  the  timid  voice  of  the  scholar  wavered  greatly. 
Upon  the  table  there  were  lying  a  couple  of  letters 
from   the    Reformer,   with    remarks    upon   Erasmus, 
expressed   in  a  clear  and  decided  tone,  which  had 
been  published  in  Strassburg  without  the  knowledge 
or  consent   of  the   writer.     A   private  letter  of  the 
Wittenberg    Reformer   was,    it   is    said,  lying  there 
too  ;*  and  the  host  observes  that  his   Polish  friend 
would   like   to  take   the  letter   with   him  for  use  at 
home,  in  order  to  goad  his  king  on  to  a  more  decided 
procedure.      Erasmus  promises  him    a   copy  of  the 
letter,  as  likewise  of  the  two  which  have  appeared 
in  print,  and  begs  the  ambassador  to  make  known 
their  contents  to  the  Emperor  also. 

This  incident  suffices  to  give  us  an  impression 
of  the  atmosphere  in  which  our  Johannes  was  still 
living  at  that  time,  and  which  was  so  entirely  opposed 
to  the  fresh  and  invigorating  breeze  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Erasmus  experienced  a  lively  pleasure  in  the 
three  Polish  young  men,  who,  though  belonging  to 
the  highest  nobility,  bowed  with  friendly  homage 
before  the  intellectual  nobility  of  the  Humanist. 

The  brothers  appear  to  have  stayed  only  a  short 
time  in  Basle  on  their  route,  but  yet  long  enough 
to  have  formed  a  few  acquaintances  in  the  highly 
animating  humanistic  circle,  who  were  powerful 

*  Erasmus  himself  says  so. 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


enough  to  detain  our  Johannes,  after  an  absence  of 
some  months,  for  a  longer  period  in  the  university 
city.  We  shall  have  an  opportunity  on  his  second 
visit  of  becoming  ourselves  at  home  in  these  circles. 
Only  to  one  person  would  we  refer,  with  whom  Laski 
now  came  into  contact,  but  whom  he  no  longer 
found  present  at  his  return  :  he  had  then,  at  Basle, 
too,  been  compelled  to  take  up  again  the  wanderer's 
staff  of  banishment,  already  so  often  in  request  with 
him.  It  was  Guillaume  Farel,  the  fiery  hero  from 
France,  who  had  bidden  farewell  to  his  own  fair 
native  land  and  gone  into  exile  in  order  to  be  able 
to  live  in  accordance  with  his  faith.  He  is  a  pheno- 
menon in  a  high  degree  attractive,  this  man,  who,  a 
fugitive  from  France,  has  for  months  been  living  in 
Switzerland,  where  the  waves  of  the  Reformation 
already  run  high,  and  in  the  first  weeks  of  the  year 
1524  has  found  a  shelter  in  the  free  city  of  Basle  ; 
a  countryman  of  Calvin,  and  his  forerunner  and 
path-breaker  in  Switzerland.  The  energetic  son  of 
the  Dauphiny  could  not  long  impose  silence  upon 
himself,  even  in  the  city  in  which  he  enjoyed  the 
rights  of  hospitality.  As  early  as  the  twenty-third 
of  February  he  persisted  in  holding,  despite  the 
protest  of  the  University,  a  public  disputation  upon 
thirteen  theses,  in  which  the  spirit  of  the  Reforma- 
tion flowed  with  mighty  onward  sweep.  On  this 
occasion  Oecolampadins  acted  as  interpreter/'5'  The 
victorious  issue  of  the  disputation  was  an  important 
step  in  advance  for  Basle  towards  a  final  decision  in 
favour  of  the  Reformation.  For  the  impetuous  and 

*  Herminjard,  Corresfiondanced.es  Reformateurs  (Geneve, 
i866.J7«z'.),  i.,  p.  193.  Compare  Adam,  Decades duce  (Franco- 
furti  ad  Mcenum,  1653),  P-  ]3- 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     99 

fearless  Frenchman,  however,  the  delay  was  too  great 
before  the  decisive  die  would  be  cast  in  the  peaceful 
development  of  affairs.  At  the  end  of  a  few 
months  he  had,  by  his  unhesitating  frankness,  by 
his  passionate  insistance  upon  an  instant  decision, 
forfeited  his  right  of  hospitality  in  the  city.  It  was 
thus,  at  any  rate,  too  early  as  yet  to  call  Erasmus  a 
modern  Balaam.  About  Whitsuntide  the  right  of 
hospitality  was  withdrawn  from  the  troublesome 
man  ;  the  homeless  fugitive  repaired  thence  to 
Strassburg. 

Our  Johannes  had,  during  this  first  residence  in 
Basle,  been  brought  into  personal  contact  with  the 
lively,  earnest-minded  Frenchman,  and  even  formed 
an  intimacy  with  him.  This  might  awaken  some 
surprise,  when  we  have  regard  to  the  bearing,  then 
so  fundamentally  different,  of  the  two  young  men 
towards  the  Church.  In  explanation  may  be  urged 
the  inner  affinity  of  the  Slavonic  and  the  Romance 
nature,  then  already  to  be  recognised  in  many 
traits.  We  must  likewise  take  into  our  account 
the  zeal  of  the  Pole  for  keeping  his  eye  open  for 
every  phenomenon  of  the  spiritual  life  ;  and  who, 
considering  the  imperfect  accounts  which  have  come 
down  to  us  from  that  time,  shall  prove  that  one  or 
another  of  the  theses,  even  though  they  at  first 
startled  the  nephew  of  the  Polish  ecclesiastical 
prince,  living  as  he  did  in  the  midst  of  such  totally 
different  associations,  did  not  pierce  his  heart  like 
a  lightning-flash,  there  to  light  up  in  lurid  glare 
a  world  hitherto  veiled  in  dense  night  ?  However 
this  may  be,  the  impression  left  was  so  deep,  that 
even  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterwards,  at  a  time 
when  the  Basle  days  often  revived  again  fresh  in  his 


ioo  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

memory,  Laski  thought  also  of  his  conversations 
and  friendship  with  the  stout-hearted  Frenchman, 
and  in  a  letter  to  Calvin  sends  his  greeting  to  the 
indefatigable  and  fearless  preacher  of  the  Gospel.* 

To  the  bitter  saying  of  Farel  with  regard  to 
Erasmus,  when  he  brands  him  as  a  modern  Balaam, 
the  Polish  brothers  have,  all  unwittingly,  given  rise. 
On  the  occasion  of  their  departure  from  Basle, 
Jerome,  with  Polish  liberality,  made  to  the  revered 
Humanist,  who  very  much  liked  to  receive  costly 
gifts,  the  present  of  a  silver  vase.  The  rumour 
was  directly  circulated  in  Basle,  that  Erasmus  had 
boasted  of  being  in  possession  of  a  means  of  quench- 
ing the  Lutheran  conflagration  at  a  stroke.  This 
means,  it  was  whispered,  he  had  conferred  upon 
the  Polish  imperial  ambassador,  and  the  silver  plate 
was  the  price  of  the  shameful  merchandise.  Erasmus 
smarted  greatly  under  this  charge.  In  a  lengthy 
epistle  to  the  Constance  jurisconsult  Botzemius,  to 
whom  he  pours  forth  his  troubled  heart,  he  hints 
only  obscurely  at  the  man  whom  he  takes  to  be 
the  author  of  the  reproach  ;  he  must  afterwards 
have  obtained  more  certain  information  that  the 
thing  had  been  said  in  somewhat  brusque  candour 
by  William  Farel ;  and  then  he  rested  not  until  he 
had  got  the  opponent  driven  out  of  Basle.f 

But  that  took  place  long  after  the  Laskis  had 
left  the  city.  We  are  without  any  information  as  to 
the  time  of  their  departure  ;  nay,  we  are  to  so  great 
an  extent  groping  in  the  dark  as  regards  the  succes- 
sion of  time  that  it  is  only  by  a  conclusion  on  the 

*  Calvini  Opera  (in  the  Corpus  Reformatorum)  (Brunsvigae, 
1863  seq.},  xiv.  42. 
t  Compare  Haag,  La  France  Protestante  (Paris,  1850),  v.  61. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     101 

grounds  of  probability  that  we  are  led  to  place  at 
this  stage,  shortly  after  his  brief  residence  in  Basle, 
the  journey  of  our  JoJianncs  to  Paris,  where,  at  any 
rate,  he  most  assuredly  was.  More  fortunate 
explorers  will  perhaps  hereafter  light  upon  a  more 
certain  date  ;  until  then  conjecture  may  be  allowed 
its  modest  place. 

2.  IN  PARIS. 

If  our  conjecture  be  correct,  it  was  about  the 
spring  of  1524  that  our  three  Poles  entered  the 
metropolis  of  France,  not  as  distinguished  strangers 
who  must  first  open  to  themselves  a  way  into  the 
higher  society.  Jerome  had  already  repeatedly 
visited  the  court  of  the  King,  and,  moreover,  the 
last  time  in  particular  on  a  mission  which  of  neces- 
sity brought  the  plenipotentiary  into  familiar  rela- 
tions with  the  King  himself.  Francis  /.,  for  whom 
much  depended  on  an  intimate  alliance  with  Poland, 
was  on  a  very  friendly  footing  with  the  gifted 
ambassador,  the  more  so  because  he  was  drawn 
to  the  chivalrous  person  of  the  ambassador  himself. 
The  youngest  brother  had  either  already,  on  a 
previous  occasion  as  formerly  mentioned,  won  the 
favour  of  the  King,  or  he  acquired  it  now,  and  that 
in  such  high  degree  that  he  entered  the  service  of 
the  King  of  France,  and  in  his  immediate  surround- 
ings often  afterwards  gave  proofs  of  his  most  faithful 
attachment  to  Francis  /.,  even  in  the  darkest  days 
of  his  adversity.  It  is  thus  self-evident  that  our 
Johannes  could  go  in  and  out  at  the  French  court 
at  his  pleasure. 

It   was   for   an   aspiring  theologian  an  attractive 


I02  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

time  at  which  Laski  abode  in  Paris.  The  powerful 
movement,  which  had  proceeded  from  Germany  a 
few  years  before,  had  not  made  a  halt  at  the  Rhine ; 
its  wide  circles  quickly  touched  the  other  bank  also, 
and  already  one  might  trace  the  effect  in  the  heart 
of  France,  nay  in  the  very  court  of  the  King.  Those 
who,  as  the  spiritual  sons  and  heirs  of  the  movement, 
now  dwell  in  that  land,  suppose  that  the  first  traces 
of  the  newly  awakened  Reformation  life  must  be 
sought  in  France  itself.  Our  Polish  dean  must  have 
been  singularly  affected  at  seeing  the  same  ineffec- 
tual measures  now  adopted  by  the  Sorbonne  against 
the  heretical  doctrine  to  which  he  had  himself  given 
his  assent  but  the  year  before.  Precisely  the  inter- 
diction of  the  writings  of  the  Reformation  was  then, 
as  to-day,  a  right  thankworthy  lever  for  their  diffu- 
sion. But  then  on  the  Seine  men  were  sooner 
disposed  than  on  the  Vistula  to  follow  up  passionate 
words  with  stern  deeds ;  they  shrank  not  from 
raising  an  avenging  hand  against  those  who  incurred 
the  not  unfounded  suspicion  of  having  given  a 
questionable  reception  to  the  new  and  dangerous 
doctrine. 

The  men  well-disposed  towards  the  Gospel 
gathered  around  the  venerable  form  of  the  Bishop 
of  Meaux,  Briqonnet,  the  spiritual  adviser  of  the 
sister  of  the  King,  Marguerite  of  Valois.  Specially 
during  the  first  years  of  his  episcopal  administration 
is  there  to  be  perceived  in  the  action  of  the  pious 
shepherd  of  souls  a  compassion  for  the  flock  en- 
trusted to  him,  a  profound  grieving  over  the  open 
and  gaping  wounds  of  his  Church.  It  seems  like  a 
breeze  of  spring  in  the  Gallican  Church  when  we 
see  how  this  pastor  proclaims  to  his  flock  the  Word 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     103 

of  God  in  a  preaching  of  almost  Protestant  tone  ; 
how  his  clergy,  animated  by  a  like  zeal  of  love,  un- 
ceasingly pass  to  and  fro  between  Meaux  and  Paris, 
to  attend  in  faithful  ministration  upon  their  spiritual 
charge  ;  how  from  this  evangelically  minded  circle 
writings  go  forth  over  all  the  land,  which,  though 
expressed  in  cautious  and  scrupulous  language,  and 
wanting  the  jubilant  tone  of  freedom  breathing  in 
the  burning  words  of  the  German  Reformer,  never- 
theless re-echoed  far  and  wide  in  the  lark-song  of 
early  morning,  which  even  in  its  earnest  cadences 
breathed  a  longing  for  the  dawn  of  the  new  day. 

In  the  circle  of  these  men   we  meet  with  one  of 
the    most  attractive  forms  to  be  found  among  the 
precursors  of  the  Reformation.      It  is  the  then  highly 
venerable  Jacques  Lefevre  d'Etaplcs,   who,    proceed- 
ing from  the  studies  of  the  ancient  literature,  was 
among  the  first  courageously  to  apply  himself  to  the 
investigation   of  Holy   Scripture,  at  first,   it  is  true, 
only   with    the   interest   in   those    days   passionately 
devoted  to  every  literary  fragment  of  antiquity.      But 
just  this  prosaic  mode  of  contemplation,  which  aimed 
only  at  the  right  understanding  of  the  words,  was 
the  means  of  striking  off  the  fetters  in  which  it  had 
been  sought  for  ages  past  to  place  the  Word  of  God, 
to   the   intent  that  it  should    be    made  to  give   its 
assent  only  to  all  possible  dogmas  and  definitions  of 
the  Church.      In   the   course,  however,  of  a  further 
unceasing  penetration  into  the  meaning,  the  sacred 
contents  of  the  book  exerted  their  inevitable  effect 
upon  the  devout  man.      So  soon   as  he  had  felt  this 
saving   effect  in  his  own   experience  he  rested   not 
until    he    had    submitted   the    great  throng    of   his 
students   at  the   Paris   University   to  the   same  in- 


I04  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

fluence.  His  unfolding  of  single  books  of  the  New 
Testament  is  a  veritable  pioneer  labour.*  During 
these  very  days  (1522 — 1523)  his  expositions  on 
the  four  Gospels  had  appeared  in  the  press,  and  in 
rapid  succession  the  Catholic  Epistles,  creating  the 
greatest  sensation,  and  for  the  Sorbonne  no  small 
degree  of  offence.  These  books  now  fell  into  the 
hands  of  our  Polish  friend.  The  name  of  the  author 
had  been  familiar  to  him  from  his  boyhood.  The 
school  editions  and  elucidations  of  Faber  Stapuknsis 
on  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics  had  almost  all  been 
reprinted  in  Cracow,  and  the  numerous  editions  give 
us  an  idea  of  the  frequent  use  of  them  in  Laskfs 
native  land.  In  those  Paris  days  Laski  seems  to 
have  been  brought  likewise  into  close  personal  re- 
lations with  the  serious  and  devout  investigator  of 
Scripture.  In  the  only  passage  of  his  works,  so  far 
as  my  memory  serves  me,  in  which  he  makes  mention 
of  the  French  expositor,  he  lauds  certain  qualities 
in  the  man  which  may  well  have  become  known  to 
him  from  personal  intercourse.!  Faber  was  up  to 
that  time  still  firmly  persuaded  that  he  could  yet 
claim  room  and  toleration  in  his  mother  Church  for 
his  opinions,  which,  it  is  true,  were  already  most 
fiercely  assailed  by  the  opponents.  The  painful 
moment  of  decision  had  not  yet  come  for  the  old 
man.  Timidly  did  he  shrink  from  the  dreaded  hour. 
But  while  upon  his  deathbed,  in  1536,  the  veteran 
of  eighty-six  years  was  tortured  with  the  thought 
that  he  had  been  weak  in  the  hour  of  peril,  and  had 

*  Compare  Graf,  "  Jacobus  Faber  Stapulensis,"  Ztsch.  f. 
Hist.  Theol.  (1852),  p.  24  seq. 

t  Kuyper,  Joannis  a  Lasco  opera  tarn  edita  quam  inedita, 
2  vols.  (Anstel.,  1866),  i.,  p.  53. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     105 


lacked  the  witnessing  courage  of  a  confessor,  and 
that  he  had  thus  forfeited  the  crown  of  life  which 
his  heroic  disciples  and  friends,  the  noble  Panvant 
and  the  intrepid  confessor  Berquin,  had  obtained  by 
their  faithfulness  unto  death  at  the  stake. 

Out  of  the  midst  of  these  men,  profoundly  inspired 
as  they  were  with  the  evangelic  spirit,  and  of  kindred 
sentiments  and  endeavours  with  them,  towers  in 
graceful  beauty  the  form  of  the  renowned  Marguerite 
de  Valois.  She  belongs  to  the  most  chosen  number 
of  the  daughters  of  her  native  land,  and  in  like 
degree  to  the  most  favourite  daughters  of  the 
Renaissance,  at  the  point  at  which  it  inclined  to  the 
side  of  the  Reformation.  The  current  of  thought  in 
those  great  days  beats  upon  her  well-nigh  masculine 
soul,  there  to  meet  with  a  warm  and  deep  and 
delicate  receptiveness.  With  full  understanding  and 
enjoyment,  the  highly  gifted  and  noble  princess  reads 
the  Latin,  Italian,  and  Spanish  authors  ;  nor  is  she 
unacquainted  with  Greek  and  Hebrew.  The  same 
passionate  acquisitiveness  for  learning,  which  un- 
ceasingly animates  the  Humanists  of  those  days,  has 
descended  likewise  upon  her.  But  with  a  certain 
feminine  refinement  of  feeling,  she  avoids  such  dis- 
quieting research  ;  her  devout  mind  leads  her  in  the 
advancing  path  of  her  severe  studies  into  the  depths 
of  the  word  of  God.  She  is  brought  into  contact 
with  the  "  friends  of  God  "  in  Meaux.  Bri^onnet 
is  to  her  more  than  a  father-confessor  ;  in  the  fair, 
evangelical  sense  of  the  word,  her  spiritual  shepherd. 
Before  him  she  pours  out  her  heart,  athirst  for  grace, 
and  that  in  affecting  letters,  preserved  to  the  present 
day,  precious  testimonies  of  her  pious  soul,  as  also 
of  the  age  in  which  she  lived.  She  is  to  be  regarded 


io6  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

as  the  guardian  angel  of  the  reformational  move- 
ment in  France :  to  help  it,  however,  to  a  full 
deliverance  surpassed  her  powers  ;  for  such  a  lofty, 
severe  task  she  was  still  too  much  ma  mignonne, 
as  the  King  was  wont  most  frequently  to  designate 
his  dearly  loved  sister.  Every  moment  men  were 
looking  to  see  her  take  the  decisive  step  of  openly 
confessing  herself  on  the  side  of  the  Reformation. 
She  had  appeared  so  markedly  in  the  foreground, 
had  given  so  momentous  an  impetus  thereto,  and 
that  in  so  decided  a  manner,  that  others  reverentially 
awaited  the  signal  to  be  given  by  her,  and  on  that 
account  even  irresolutely  lingered.  But  she,  too, 
lingers  ;  at  the  last  moment  she  shrinks  back,  not, 
it  is  true,  from  fear  of  the  suffering  she  might  have 
to  encounter  ;  of  this  she  bore  with  resignation  an 
overflowing  measure.  But  she  is  just  the  mignonne 
of  her  brother,  and  the  King  almost  her  idol.  To 
awaken  his  displeasure,  perhaps  to  have  to  separate 
from  him  on  account  of  such  a  step, — the  thought  of 
such  a  possibility  rises  not  for  a  moment  before  her 
passionately  loving  soul.  She  would  be  able  to  sing 
the  last  strophes  of  our  German  Reformation  Hymn, 
save  in  the  case  that,  in  place  of  the  possessions  there 
demanded,  the  parting  with  her  brother  had  been 
the  sacrifice  required  of  her.  Sorrowfully,  as  the 
rich  young  man  in  the  Gospel,  would  she  then  have 
gone  away  from  the  Lord,  who  demands  so  heavy  a 
sacrifice  at  her  hands.  If  one  might  be  allowed  to 
give  another  turn  to  the  course  of  history  by  what 
prove  to  be,  in  presence  of  its  brazen  step,  but  very 
fond  wishes,  our  wish  would  here  certainly  be  that 
this  towering  form  at  the  threshold  of  the  French 
Reformation  had  only  received,  in  place  of  the 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     107 

counsel  of  Briqonnet,  consoling  himself  in  a  certain 
mysticism,  that  of  her  most  distinguished  contem- 
porary and  countryman,  the  great  Calvin,  and  had 
permitted  the  sacred  truth  by  him  to  be  carried 
home  to  the  conscience,  that  the  confession  of  Christ 
is  worthy  of  the  sacrifice  of  even  the  most  faithful 
brother's  love  !  But  history  has  followed  a  different 
path  for  that  beauteous  land.  France  has  violently 
repelled  the  Reformation  from  its  richly  favoured 
plains,  and  in  consequence  thereof  has  had  to  under- 
go the  Revolution,  whose  bloody  and  baleful  convul- 
sions to  this  hour  forbid  the  much-enduring  land  to 
attain  to  repose. 

This  train  of  thought  has  led  us  far  from  our 
starting  point.  We  hasten  to  return  to  that  far-off 
year  of  the  visit  of  La&ki  to  the  court  of  the  King. 
Francis  I.  cherished  great  esteem  for  his  highly 
gifted  sister,  and  heeded  her  wise  counsel.  It  was  a 
frequent  occurrence  that  after  holding  an  interview 
with  the  foreign  ambassadors,  he  would  refer  them 
likewise  to  his  sister,  would  consult  with  her  as 
to  a  final  decision,  and  would  follow  her  guidance 
therein.* 

On  account  in  particular  of  his  secret  commission 
would  the  ambassador  of  King  Sigismund  be  in- 
troduced by  Francis  I.  to  his  sister  ;  through  him 
our  Johannes  also  obtained  access  to  the  court. 
That  he  was  brought  into  immediate  personal 
converse  with  the  high-minded  Marguerite  de  Valois 
in  those  days  is  attested  by  the  epistle  of  Erasmus 
to  the  princess,  in  which  he  makes  mention  of  the 

*  Merle  d'Aubigne,  Histoire  de  la  Reformation  du  XVI* 
Siecle  (Paris,  1860),  Hi.,  p.  383. 


io8  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

letters  she  had  addressed  to  A  Lasco  during  his 
residence  in  Basle.*  Many  traces  of  elective 
affinity  are  to  be  discerned  in  the  spiritual  tendency 
of  the  two  persons,  Laski  then  still  firmly  rooted 
in  his  attachment  to  the  Romish  Church,  Marguerite 
continuing  in  it  until  the  end  of  life,  both  alike 
animated  by  the  conviction  that  the  deep  wounds 
recognised  by  them  could  still  be  healed  by  the 
Church  herself.  She,  in  point  of  years  the  senior,  is 
also  intellectually  in  advance  of  the  man  who  is 
on  the  way  to  the  Reformation  ;  eventually,  however, 
the  French  queen  is  outstripped  by  the  Pole,  who 
alone  of  the  two  attained  to  the  fair  prize,  because  he 
was  prepared  for  making  a  sacrifice  from  which  the 
gifted  woman  shrank. 

How  long  our  Laski  still  remained  in  Paris 
after  his  brother  had  departed  for  the  execution 
of  the  royal  commission  entrusted  to  him,  we 
have  been  unable  to  discover,  and  just  as  little 
whether  he  repaired  thence  to  Switzerland  direct, 
or  whether  his  course  of  studies  led  him  to  other 
places  also.  We  meet  with  him  only  in  Basle 
at  the  end  of  1524,  and  breathe  freely  again,  as  it 
were,  on  having  found  him  there,  because  from  this 
time  we  have  more  solid  ground  under  our  feet ;  and 
certainly  a  clearer  light  falls  upon  this  second  visit 
than  the  twilight  in  which  hitherto  for  the  most 
part  we  have  had  to  trace  our  steps. 

3.  THE  SECOND  RESIDENCE  IN  BASLE. 
The  fortunate  Basle,  even  in  the  sixteenth  century, 

*  Erasmus,  Efiistolarum  Libri  XXXI.     (Londini,  1642), 
p.  970. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     109 

and  specially  in  those  days,  in  its  fairest,  most 
abundantly  favoured  time  of  bloom  !  Situate  on  the 
boundary  line  of  two  lands,  or  rather  standing  with 
firm  foot  in  both  lands  on  either  side  of  the  Rhine, 
the  city  has  known,  at  that  time  of  decision  in  which 
she  cast  in  her  lot  with  Switzerland,  how  to  preserve 
to  herself  the  rights  of  citizenship  in  the  intellectual 
fatherland  of  the  two  neighbouring  States.  The 
citizens  remained  in  their  essential  character  men 
of  the  German  mind,  and  adopted  in  addition  the 
Switzer's  proud  sense  of  freedom  ;  this  twofold  gift 
has  at  all  times  preserved  a  good  name.  sEneas 
Sylvius  in  his  day  gives  a  flattering  description  of 
the  city  and  its  inhabitants,  at  the  time  when  he 
abode  within  its  bright  and  cheerful  walls  during  the 
sitting  of  the  Council  of  Basle  (1431).  The  sound 
vigorous  sense,  which  is  lauded  by  him,  did  not  fail 
the  inhabitants  during  the  century  which  had  elapsed  ; 
there  had  grown  up,  however,  a  greater  earnestness, 
a  scientific  eagerness,  an  active  interest  in  the 
questions  which  now  stirred  the  minds  of  men. 
Basle  had  become  a  main  fortress  of  Humanism  on 
this  side  the  Alps,  a  sanctuary  and  rendezvous  of  the 
learned,  who  here  could  quietly  surrender  themselves 
to  their  passion  for  studies.  Of  the  touching  zeal, 
the  almost  consuming,  devouring  ardour  of  the 
affection  which  inspired  the  Humanists  for  the  revived 
sciences,  Basle  affords  us  more  than  one  fascinating 
instance.  What  a  rare  apparition,  for  example,  that 
Thomas  Platter,  whose  traits  have  been  caught  by 
the  master-hand  of  a  Freytag  in  the  picture  of  a 
roving  scholar  of  the  sixteenth  century !  *  We 

*  Freytag,    Bilder    aus    der   Deutschcn    Vergangenheit 


no  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

cannot  refrain  from  here  mentioning  an  incident 
not  turned  to  account  by  others.  The  poor  shepherd 
boy,  and  then  roving  scholar,  who,  without  fixed 
abode,  had  travelled  so  far  into  Germany,  has  now 
landed  at  the  rope- maker's  workshop  in  Basle,  after 
long  and  toilsome  wanderings.  To  the  cord  which 
he  has  to  twist  upon  the  rope-walk  he  affixes  a 
wooden  fork,  holding  a  single  sheet  of  a  copy  of 
Plautus  which  has  been  given  him.  Thus  walking 
backwards,  he  twists  the  rope  and  plunges  in  spirit 
into  the  midst  of  the  breathing  forms  of  the  Roman 
poet.  In  this  way  he  plied  the  Latin,  in  this  way 
the  Greek,  yea  even  the  Hebrew,  and  while  yet  a 
journeyman  rope-maker  also  taught  in  the  school  of 
Dr.  Oporinns.  And  now  he  relates  in  his  diary,  "  In 
the  same  year," — it  was  about  the  time  at  which 
Laski  was  living  in  Basle, — "  there  came  a  Frenchman 
from  the  Queen  of  Navarre,  sent  out  to  learn 
Hebrew,  who  came  also  into  the  school,  where,  as 
I  went  in  my  common  clothes,  I  sat  me  down 
behind  the  stove,  which  was  a  fine  seat,  and  let  the 
students  sit  at  the  table.  So  says  the  Frenchman, 
'  Quando  venit  noster  professor  ?  "  ["  When  does  our 
professor  come  ?  "]  "  Oporinus  points  to  me.  Then 
he  looks  upon  me  and  begins  to  wonder,  thinks  in 
doubt, '  Such  a  man  ought  to  be  clad  in  other  garments 
than  such  common  ones.'  When  all  was  over,  he 
took  me  by  the  hand,  leads  me  out  over  the  little 
bridge,  and  asks  me  how  it  came  about  that  I  was 
so  poorly  clad.  Said  I,  '  Mea  res  ad  restim 
rediit '  "  ["  My  affairs  have  come  to  the  rope "  (a 
Terentian  joke)].  "  Then  said  he,  '  If  I  would,  he  was 

(Leipsic,   1867),  ii.  2,  p.  13  seq.    Compare  Thomas  u.  Felix 
Platter,  Zwei  Lebensbilder,  by  Heumann  (Gutersloh,  1882). 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD,     in 

minded  to  write  to  the  Queen  about  me  ;  she  would 
raise  me  to  a  god  if  I  would  only  follow  him  ;  but  I 
would  not  follow  him  .  .  .  "* 

Rather  then  in  Basle  as  a  journeyman  rope-maker, 
than  be  entertained  in  Paris  as  a  king.  It  is  the 
proud  answer  of  the  free  Humanist,  who  has  found 
in  this  place  what  he  wants.  Not  a  little  did  it 
contribute  to  the  fame  of  this  city  that  it  had 
become  the  workplace  of  important  master-printers, 
above  all  the  renowned  Froben,  and  then  also 
people  like  Amerbach,  Oporinus,  and  so  many  others. 
The  printing  art  was  not  yet  old,  and  those  engaged 
in  its  service  passed  through  the  ever-memorable 
period  of  first  love  for  the  new  wonder-inspiring  art. 

Those  who  practised  the  marvellous  discovery 
looked  upon  themselves  as  artists,  not  as  handicrafts- 
men ;  they  were  enthusiastic  heralds  in  the  service 
of  the  Immaniora,  not  a  few  among  them  the 
greatest  favourers  of  science,  their  workshop  a  fount 
of  learning.  The  profit  from  their  calling  was  for 
these  men  a  secondary  question  ;  their  enthusiasm 
was  derived  from  the  satisfying  feeling  of  being 
an  essential  link  in  the  chain  at  which  the  greatest 
minds  were  standing  day  and  night,  in  order  to 
raise  the  new-found  treasure.  They  had  the  sense 
of  being  royal  mint-masters,  who  gave  currency  to 
the  gold  obtained,  as  the  common  possession  of 
the  learned  ;  upon  all  their  doings  in  those  days 
rests  the  fine  enamel  of  an  intellectual  act,  which 
carries  its  reward  in  itself. 

The  master-printer  Froben  was  the  powerful 
magnet  which  in  those  years  drew  to  Basle  an 

*  Boos,  Thomas  und  Felix  Platter  (Leipsic,  1878),  p.  55. 


U2  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Erasmus,  the  friend  and  invited  guest  of  kings 
and  the  highest  spiritual  and  secular  dignitaries, 
which  was  strong  enough  also  to  detain  him  in 
the  quiet  burgher  city  even  when  Margaret  of 
Austria,  spite  of  the  imperial  mandate,  made  the 
payment  of  the  pension  granted  him  dependent 
upon  the  return  of  this  king  of  science  to  the  court 
of  Brabant* 

Erasmus,  at  the  time  when  he  migrated  to  Basle, 
was  looked  upon  as  the  king  in  the  domain  of 
knowledge  and  of  the  study  of  ancient  literature. 
In  this  delicate  form,  with  the  sharply  projecting, 
pointed  nose,  with  the  fine  firmly  closed  lips,  about 
which  plays  a  slight  suppressed  smile,  as  the  pencil 
of  Holbein  has  depicted  the  man  to  us  as  the 
archetype  of  an  intellectual  scholar,  was  collected, 
as  it  were  in  a  focus,  all  that  gave  shape  and  life 
to  the  humanistic  movement.  That  which  once  in 
after-times  Zinzendorf  confessed  of  himself  in  a  very 
different  province — he  had  "  only  one  passion,  and 
that  was  Christ,"  the  word  of  a  passion  consuming 
all  other  emotions  of  the  soul, — is  true  also  of 
Erasmus,  only  with  regard  to  that  other  object, 
the  newly  awakened  science.  Of  an  acute  mind, 
a  refined  intellect,  freed  from  the  trammels  of 
earlier  times,  Erasmus  launched  forth  into  the  pro- 
vince now  first  opening  itself  to  human  research  ; 
with  greater  ardour  has  no  youth  ever  clasped 
to  his  heart  his  bride,  than  that  with  which  he 
impressed  the  kiss  of  his  love  and  enthusiasm  upon 
the  newly  awakened,  reviving  world  of  the  ancients. 
It  is  a  gigantic  industry,  which  the  man  with  the 

*  Feugere,  Erasme.    Etude  sur  sa  Vie  et  ses  Ouvrages 
(Paris,  1874),  p.  113. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     113 


sickly  physical  frame  unfolded  his  life  long.  Into 
all  the  most  remote  corners  his  searching  eye;]  is 
found  to  penetrate ;  nothing  remains  strange  to  him  ; 
everywhere  he  is  at  once  at  home  in  the  newly 
discovered  domain.  The  genius  of  the  ancients 
is  not  ungrateful  in  return  for  such  faithful  devotion ; 
it  opens  up  to  the  unwearied  wooer  its  beauty,  so 
that  it  is  as  though  the  ancients  themselves  were 
speaking  through  him,  so  pure,  so  clear,  so  well 
proportioned  and  sparkling  flows  forth  his  Latin 
discourse. 

Even  as  a  Humanist  Erasmus  bears  the  stamp 
of  the  German  character.  The  latter  is  more 
earnest,  profound,  more  immediately  penetrating  to 
the  sources  of  life,  than  the  other  nature,  beyond 
the  mountains,  in  the  sunny,  joyous  south.  For 
a  Boccacio,  or  even  an  Aretino,  we  have  no  congenial 
spot.  The  direct  effect  of  the  revival  of  the 
sciences  may  be  compared,  in  all  lands  through 
which  it  held  its  procession,  to  the  exultant  jubila- 
tion of  a  crowd  of  boys,  who,  long  pent  up  in  the 
close  schoolroom,  with  its  dust  and  vapour,  are 
now  suddenly  set  free,  and  rush  out  amidst  the 
breezes  of  spring,  to  drink  in  deep  draughts  the 
delicious  air  of  May.  Just  as  great  was  the 
difference  between  the  breath  of  fresh  air  which 
was  wafted  to  the  Humanists  from  the  study  of 
the  newly  revived  Greeks  and  Romans  as  compared 
with  the  oppressive  atmosphere  which  had  gradually 
formed  about  the  investigations  of  scholasticism. 
We  must  not  pronounce  too  severe  a  judgment  on 
the  outbreak  of  the  first,  perhaps  wild  jubilation  at 
the  reopened  place  of  exercise  ;  and  must  not  apply 
too  stern  a  rule  to  the  period  of  the  first  boisterous 

8 


I14  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


excitement.  But  life  is  not  to  be  passed  on 
this  playground,  and  its  task  is  not  the  enjoyment 
of  pleasure. 

It  was  in  Germany  that  the  studies  of  Humanism 
underwent  a  timely  diversion  into  more  serious 
channels,  and  amongst  those  who  took  the  lead  in  this 
direction  we  find  Erasmus.  In  the  course  of  his 
investigations,  which,  with  bold  spring,  left  far  behind 
them  the  beaten  tracks  of  scholasticism,  he  plunged 
into  the  writings  of  the  Church  Fathers  ;  astonishing 
is  the  number  of  the  editions  of  the  old  witnesses  for 
the  faith  which  he  brought  out.  Froben  had  hardly 
printing-presses  enough  to  keep  pace  with  his  bee- 
like  industry.  The  Humanist  did  not  restrict  his 
unresting  step  to  the  Fathers  alone  ;  he  penetrated 
even  to  the  fountain-head.  His  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  appeared  in  1516.  It  was  a  hurried 
labour  ;  Erasmus  himself  admitted  this.  But  that 
the  edition  did  appear  was  in  those  days  a  great  fact. 
It  was  the  victorious  return  to  the  word  of  God,  the 
freeing  of  the  path  from  all  the  unspeakable  brush- 
wood of  human  dogma  which  had  blocked  up  the 
access  to  the  fountain  itself.  The  New  Testament 
was  looked  upon  now  as  afresh  brought  to  light,  like 
a  newly  discovered  writing  of  Cicero  or  Plato  ;  and 
was  also  so  read  by  many.  This  was,  in  the  first 
place,  a  gain  for  the  understanding  of  it  ;  all  the  un- 
happy allegorisings  of  scholasticism  vanished  before 
the  sober  grammatical  treatment  of  the  Scripture 
text,  as  the  misty  forms  vanish  before  the  piercing 

*  Berger,  La  Bible  au  XVIe  Siecle  (Paris,  1879),  p.  55, 
makes  mention  of  the  passage  in  the  letter  of  Erasmus  to 
Pirkheimer:  "  Novum  testamentum  praecipitatum  fuit  verius 
quam  editum." 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     115 

ray  of  the  sun.  This  liberating  effect  of  the  studies 
of  Humanism  in  their  furthering  influence  upon  the 
Reformation  may  be  compared  to  the  significance  of 
the  campaigns  of  Alexander  upon  the  first  diffusion 
of  Christianity.  Ximenez  had  begun  the  preparatory 
labours  for  his  polyglot  of  the  New  Testament  much 
earlier,  and  everybody  was  intently  looking  for  its 
appearing.  Erasmus  had  been  led  to  undertake  the 
hurried  labour  by  the  wish  to  be  beforehand  with  the 
Spaniard.  The  German  Humanist,  however,  did  not 
content  himself  with  an  edition  of  the  text ;  with 
devout  mind  he  kept  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  higher 
task  of  opening  up  to  his  contemporaries  the  under- 
standing of  Holy  Scripture.  Precious  directions 
thereto,  of  value  to  the  present  hour,  are  to  be 
gathered  from  the  writings  of  Erasmus  bearing  on 
this  subject,  communicated  by  a  soul  deeply 
affected  by  the  sacred  contents  of  the  writings, 
which  surrenders  itself  to  the  impression  of  the  Word 
of  God,  though  still  in  a  certain  naive  manner 
without  calculating  the  full  bearing  of  this  impression. 
A  breath  of  the  Reformation  sweeps  through  these 
passages  ;  no  one  can  deny  it.  In  them  moves  a 
spirit  which  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  modest  or 
even  scrupulous  self-restriction,  which  Erasmus,  in  a 
figure,  designates  as  the  life-task  assigned  to  him. 
On  one  occasion  he  compares  his  position  to  that  of 
the  pillars  of  Mercury  in  ancient  Rome,  which,  set 
up  at  the  cross-roads,  point  out  the  way  to  the 
traveller,  without  entering  upon  it  themselves.  The 
Humanist  did  enter  upon  it,  but,  alas  !  shrank  timidly 
back  when  he  observed  that  which  he  might  have  to 
encounter  upon  this  path. 

Those  who  at  that  time  set  out  fearlessly  in  this 


i:6  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

path  have  often  bitterly  condemned  the  conduct  of 
those  who  remained  behind.  More  lenient,  but  at  the 
same  time  more  just,  is  our  judgment  after  an 
interval  of  more  than  three  hundred  years.  We 
have  to  judge  the  great  Humanist  not  only  by  the 
standard  of  those  who  pressed  forward  from 
Humanism  to  the  Reformation  ;  we  have  to  measure 
him  also  by  that  wherein  the  endeavours  of  the 
German  Humanist  are  so  essentially  and  so  advan- 
tageously distinguished  from  the  endeavours  of  those 
beyond  the  Alps.  Even  before  the  decided  rupture 
had  been  made  between  the  German  Reformer  and  the 
German  Humanist,  Luther  expressed  the  opinion — 
already  with  the  presentiment  of  the  approaching 
separation,  but  as  yet  under  the  spell  of  esteem  for 
the  powerful  man — that  Erasmus,  like  another 
Moses,  had  brought  up  his  people  out  of  Egypt,  but 
had  not  led  them  into  the  land  of  promise.  Erasmus 
has  never  been  anxious  about  the  salvation  of  his 
soul,  as  the  Augustin  monk  at  Erfurt.  He  offers  in 
his  whole  appearance  the  brilliant  and  incontestable 
proof  of  that  which  purely  humanistic  efforts  are 
capable  of  yielding :  how  under  their  quickening 
breath  a  fair  world  arises,  for  a  while  irradiated  by 
the  full  and  pure  charm  of  art,  but  also  how  its 
light  is  ever  unable  to  disperse  the  mists  of  sin,  to 
reconcile  us  to  God,  to  effect  our  sanctification. 
God,  however,  has  not  appointed  us  the  task  of 
enjoying  a  fair  life,  but  of  becoming  holy  as  He  is 
holy.  Humanism  is  able  perhaps  for  a  moment  to 
silence  the  earnest  voice  of  the  conscience  amidst  its 
liquid  melodies  ;  but  never  is  it  qualified  to  afford  a 
consolatory  answer,  a  blessed  satisfaction,  to  this 
voice,  which  cries  after  God  as  the  hart  cries  after 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     117 

the  water-brooks.  This  its  powerlessness  is  deeply 
impressed  upon  its  creations,  even  in  the  case  of 
Erasmus,  who,  full  of  painful  timidity,  cautiously 
dives,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  way  of  the  truth  of  the 
Reformation.  When  the  clear  waters  then  roll 
over  him,  and  somewhat  distort  his  features,  it  seems 
to  us  often  as  though  we  see  in  the  man  already 
something  of  that  which  is  borne  on  the  forehead  of 
the  Bayles,  the  Encyclopaedists,  and  a  faint  hint 
also  of  that  which  is  borne  by  a  Voltaire :  that 
sarcastic  vein  which  rejoices  to  awaken  doubt,  and 
yet  cautiously  remains  in  hiding,  not  to  disclose  its 
ultimate  design  ;  that  mode  which  Sainte-Beuve 
once  characterised  as  simultaneous  attack  and 
defence,  which  goes  its  way  under  the  mask  of 
learning.* 

Erasmus,  at  the  time  when  Laski  came  to  Basle, 
was  standing  at  the  decisive  parting  of  the 
ways  for  or  against  the  Reformation,  which  had 
already  become  strong  enough  in  Germany  and 
Switzerland  to  wring  from  the  presiding  spirit 
among  the  Humanists  the  painful  decision.  We 
know  that  he  cast  his  die  otherwise  than  Ulric  von 
Hutten,  from  whom  he  became  so  remarkably 
estranged  in  those  years.  The  Humanist,  who  by 
the  public  renunciation  of  the  Reformation,  as  like- 
wise by  the  cessation  of  a  sound  development  of 
life,  maintains  his  course,  does  not  find  the  path 
open  to  him  for  his  return  to  the  sheltering  bosom 
of  the  Romish  Church.  Both  currents  cast  upon 

*  Feugere  (p.  236) :  "  Cette  methode  " — selon  Ste.-Beuve — 
"  d'attaque  et  de  sape,  qui  va  son  train  sous  air  d'6rudition, 
et  que  Jansenius  definissait  si  bien  en  disant,  qu'elle  consistait 
a  produire  les  difficultes  centre  la  foi  sous  forme  de  questions, 
et  a  inserer  ce  qui  etait  souleve  la-dessus." 


n8  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

him  the  burning  sand  of  the  shore,  on  which  he 
pines  in  solitude  ;  it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 
the  darts  hurled  from  Wittenberg,  or  those  from  the 
Sorbonne  in  Paris  and  from  the  University  in 
Louvain,  were  the  more  galling  for  the  lonely  and 
wounded  man. 

We  have,  in  sketching  the  central  person,  who 
occupies,  at  that  mighty  turning  point,  so  prominent 
a  post  that  his  fate  acquires  a  typical  significance, 
already  to  some  extent  anticipated  the  time  at 
which  our  Laski  stood  on  terms  of  intimacy  with 
him.  The  sketch  has  perhaps  been  made  too 
broadly  and  on  too  large  a  scale  for  our  framework  ; 
we  were  carried  away  by  the  attraction  of  the  theme, 
because  the  influence  of  that  extraordinary  man  is 
to  be  traced  upon  the  course  of  our  hero's  life  during 
a  whole  decade.  The  eventual  decision  in  his 
position  towards  the  Reformation  was  considerably 
delayed  by  the  powerful  personality  of  the  revered 
master.  Erasmus  appeared  for  a  long  time  to  the 
timid  Churchman  to  afford  eloquent  proof  that  one 
may  surrender  himself,  wholly  and  enthusiastically, 
to  the  fresh  warm  current  of  the  studies  of 
Humanism,  without  becoming  unfaithful  to  the 
mother  Church. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Laski  did  not  form 
the  acquaintance  of  the  illustrious  man  merely  on 
his  second  residence  in  Basle  ;  the  elder  brother 
had  already  introduced  him  to  the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  sciences  ;  the  commendatory  recognition 
of  the  young  Pole  in  the  previous  year  conferred 
upon  him  the  right  now  to  beg  a  second  time  for 
admission  to  the  society  of  the  master.  The  favour- 
able impression  was  augmented  from  time  to  time, 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     119 

and  that  reciprocally.  To  the  old  magnate,  who  at 
this  particular  time  was  so  severely  assailed  on  all 
sides — we  have  only  to  remind  our  readers  that  the 
blows  received  in  the  feud  with  Hutten  still  left 
their  scars,  and  now  he  had  again  to  buckle  on  the 
armour  to  meet  the  German  Reformer  and  his 
challenges, — to  the  old  sorely  harassed  magnate  it 
might  well  do  good  to  receive  the  testimony  of  such 
warm  and  devoted  loyalty  on  the  part  of  this 
refined  and  amiable  Pole,  who  at  home  belonged  to 
the  highest  circles,  and  here  stood  in  bashful  rever- 
ence before  the  great  scholar.  The  man  at  one 
time  lauded  as  a  king  by  all  the  world  was  only  too 
accessible  to  delicate  marks  of  homage  and  tokens 
of  veneration.  The  wave  of  general  favour  was 
seriously  receding  ;  it  looks  as  though  the  man,  long 
unaccustomed  to  receive  these  tokens,  clung  to  those 
still  given,  and  was  at  pains  to  salute  from  afar  the 
tribute  which  his  immediate  surroundings  threatened 
to  refuse  him. 

Erasmus  was  wont  to  receive  boarders  into  his 
society  of  young  men.  He  had  sufficient  space  at 
his  disposal  in  his  quarters,  at  the  house  of  his 
printer  Froben,  to  vacate  a  room  for  a  young 
scholar.  Since  he  did  this  in  order  to  augment 
his  income,  only  young  men  of  wealth  could  share 
the  privilege  of  becoming  part  of  the  household 
of  the  famous  scholar.  Our  liberal  Pole,  already  in 
his  youthful  years  in  the  possession  of  no  incon- 
siderable benefices,  and,  after  the  manner  of  his 
nation,  entirely  careless  as  regards  money  matters, 
probably  paid  dearly  enough  for  the  favour  which 
he  enjoyed  during  the  last  half  of  his  stay  in  Basle. 
Three  and  a  half  gulden  per  month  was  the  price  of 


I20  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


the  room,*  and  he  seems  to  have  defrayed  the 
whole  expenses  of  the  kitchen  out  of  his  income  ; 
so  that  Erasmus  was  a  guest  in  his. own  house,  and 
long  painfully  missed  the  generous  guest  after  the 
latter  had  been  called  to  leave  Basle.  In  a  magnani- 
mous spirit,  Laski  further  purchased  of  his  book- 
collecting  host  his  entire  library,  with  the  friendly 
concession  of  leaving  the  scholar  to  the  end  of  his 
life  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  slowly  accumulated 
treasures.  Laski  was  not  then  in  a  position  to  pay 
down  the  full  purchase  money  ;  there  remained  a 
sum  of  two  hundred  gulden  still  lying  on  it,  and 
Erasmus  observed  in  his  willf  that  the  books  were 
to  be  delivered  up  at  his  death  only  on  condition 
that  the  outstanding  amount  should  have  been 
paid  to  his  heirs.  The  payment  seems  not  to  have 
been  made  ;  at  the  time  of  Erasmus'  death  Laski 
was  almost  fortuneless,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
quitting  the  Romish  Church. 

It  was  not  these  external  advantages  which 
attached  Erasmus  to  his  new  household  companion. 
The  old  man  felt  the  power  of  a  captivating  influence 
exerted  by  the  youthful  form.  Erasmus  in  his 
letters  is  not  sparing  of  words,  specially  where 
there  is  a  prospect  of  that  which  he  has  written 
coming  under  the  eye  of  the  person  commended. 
But  when  we  review  the  different  passages  in  his 
letters  concerning  the  young  friends,  they  certainly 
leave  the  impression  that  the  words  are  not  merely 
the  light  coin  of  social  intercourse.  It  seems  as 

*  Compare  the  very  rare  little  volume  of  the  private  letters 
of  Erasmus  to  Amerbach  (Bas.,  MDCCLXXix.),  which  fell  into 
my  hands  in  the  town  library  at  Basle. 

t  In  the  private  letters  of  Amerbach,  just  referred  to,  there 
is  a  printed  copy  of  the  will  (p.  122). 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     121 

though  the  morally  earnest  personality  of  Laski  had 
itself  gained  an  ascendency  over  the  old  man,  and 
had  exerted  an  abiding  influence.  That  which  is 
lauded  by  Erasmus  presents  the  same  lineaments, 
only  now  further  detailed,  as  were  already  pointed 
out  to  us  by  the  tutor  at  Bologna,  the  same  linea- 
ments as  we  ourselves  again  recognise,  more  set  in 
the  matured  life  of  the  man,  but  which  are  now  of 
special  value  as  derived  from  one  who  lived  in 
intimate  association  with  him  during  successive 
months.  It  manifests  an  almost  youthful  warmth, 
a  touching  and  affectionate  longing,  when  the  man 
of  sixty  and  more  years  judges  in  words  like  these 
of  his  daily  companion  :  "  While  a  man  of  no 
ordinary  learning,  Laski  is  in  his  life  spotlessly  pure, 
as  fresh-fallen  snow  ;  kindly,  amiable,  so  that  every- 
body begins  to  live  again  in  his  society  and  all 
have  a  sense  of  bereavement  at  his  departure  ;  a 
golden  disposition,  a  true  pearl,  and  so  unassuming 
and  free  from  arrogance,  although  he  is  called  some 
day  to  fill  one  of  the  highest  offices  in  his  native 
land."  The  young  Pole,  with  his  ancient  Roman 
blamelessness  of  character  (jprisca  integritas),  serves 
Erasmus  as  a  proof, — as  he  expresses  himself  in  a 
dedication  to  the  Vayvode  of  Cracow — "  that 
Astraea,  in  taking  her  flight  from  the  earth,  had 
left  the  last  traces  of  her  sojourn  among  the  people 
of  Poland."  Often  does  the  renowned  man  admit, 
even  after  a  lapse  of  years,  that  he  became  the 
better  for  his  living  with  Laski;  that  he,  the  old  man, 
has  learnt  from  that  young  man  that  which,  in  other 
cases,  youth  has  to  learn  from  age, — sobriety,  temper- 
ance, reverence,  moderation  of  the  tongue,  modesty, 
chastity,  purity  of  character. 


122  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Laski  clung  with  great  deference  to  the  master 
whose  disciple  he  boasted  to  be  in  those  days.  He 
was  willingly  led  on  by  him  in  his  humanistic 
studies,  then  pursued  with  so  great  ardour  ;  but  the 
deeper  and  more  abundant  knowledge  acquired  by 
him  in  this  domain  was  not  in  after-years  the  most 
grateful  memory.  Yet  higher  is  his  boast  of  the 
man,  that  he  first  guided  his  soul  to  spiritual  things  ; 
that  he  had  under  that  guidance  first  begun  to  feel 
himself  at  home  in  the  province  of  true  religion.* 
Strange,  and  yet  in  those  days  not  surprising  con- 
fession, as  coming  from  the  Romish  Church.  The 
young  man,  already  high  on  the  ladder  of  ecclesias- 
tical dignities  in  early  years,  who  in  former  days  had 
long  devoted  himself  to  theological  studies  in 
Bologna,  now  first  learns  in  Basle,  and  at  the  feet  of 
the  German  Humanist,  the  primary  and  wholly 
decisive  rudiments  of  his  vocation !  And  it  is 
Erasmus  again  who  gives  the  impulse  to  a  move- 
ment which  with  necessity  impels  into  paths  which 
the  master  himself  did  not  venture  to  enter  on.  So 
leniently  and  beautifully  does  Laski  in  after-years 
judge  of  this  weakness  and  half-heartedness  of  the 
Humanist,  with  which  he  had  already  become  suffi- 
ciently acquainted  during  his  residence  in  Basle. 
"  Every  one  has  his  measure  of  gifts,  and  no  single 
one  is  strong  in  all  domains  ;  for  us  also  there  is 
still  much  to-day  which  we  do  not  know.  It  is  our 
part  to  congratulate  ourselves  on  that  which  God,  in 
accordance  with  the  decree  of  His  will,  has  been 
pleased  to  vouchsafe  to  us  according  to  the  measure 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  569  :  "  Erasmus  mihi  autor  fuit,  ut  animum 
ad  sacra  adjicerem,  imo  vero  ille  primus  me  in  vera  religione 
instituere  coepit." 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     123 

of  our  faith.  On  that  account  also  we  must  rejoice 
in  the  gifts  of  Erasmus,  which  were  of  a  truth  great 
and  significant  enough,  and  ought  to  acknowledge 
God  in  them.  But  if  we  believe  we  have  advanced 
farther,  let  us  consider  that  this  too  was  only 
granted  to  us  of  God."*  Yes,  that  is  the  temperate 
language,  on  account  of  which  the  youth  already 
served  as  an  example  to  the  old  man. 

Erasmus1  writings  and  his  oral  teaching  in  per- 
sonal converse  were  well  adapted  for  introducing  a 
devout  mind  to  the  glory  of  the  spiritual  vocation, 
by  leading  far  away  from  artificially  constructed, 
leaking  cisterns  of  scholastic  lore,  beyond  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church,  to  the  living  fountain  of  the  Word  of 
God  itself.  How  should  a  writing  like  the  Manual 
of  Instruction  for  attaining  to  a  True  Theology, 
published  as  early  as  1515,  fail  of  exerting  its 
influence  upon  Laski  ?f  And  what  precious,  what 
stimulating,  and  refreshing  passages,  in  Erasmus* 
paraphrases  and  explanations  of  single  parts  of 
Holy  Writ  !  Yet  even  in  these  courses  of  exegetical 
investigation  it  is  not  difficult  to  discern  the  timid 
step  of  the  man  who  advances  only  to  the  threshold 
of  the  sanctuary,  then  halts,  and  contents  himself 
with  merely  external  things.  Those  were  the 
heroes  of  the  Reformation  who  courageously 
brooked  not  to  remain  standing  outside,  and  then 
in  the  sanctuary  have  seen  Jesus  only. 

With  one  of  these  heroes  Laski  was  brought  into 
personal  contact  during  his  Basle  days,  true,  only  in 
a  passing  moment,  but  yet  quite  sufficiently  for  him 
to  receive  that  goad  of  God  pressed  into  his  soul 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  584. 

t  Compare  the  elaborate  description  in  Feugere,  p.  205  f. 


i24  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

against  which  no  man,  even  though  he  were  a  Saul 
of  Tarsus,  can  successfully  strive.  In  his  apologetic 
writing  against  Westphal  he  makes  mention,  in  two 
passages,*  of  the  influence  which  Zwingli  has 
exerted  upon  him.  In  passing  through  on  his  way 
to  France  he  had  met  with  Zwingli  in  Zurich,  f  and 
was  first  induced  by  him  to  enter  upon  the  study  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  to  him  he  owed  his  most 
powerful  stimulus.  He  nevertheless  defends  himself 
resolutely  against  the  assertion  of  Westphal  that  he 
is  a  Zwinglian,  since  he  was  baptised  into  the 
name  of  no  man,  and  neither  Luther  nor  Zwingli 
was  crucified  for  him,  nor  does  he  accept  the 
doctrine  of  Zwingli  in  all  its  particulars.  Every 
attempt  to  obtain  more  precise  information  con- 
cerning this  meeting  with  Zwingli  in  Zurich  has 
proved  a  failure.  Neither  do  the  letters  of  the  Re- 
former contain  any  allusion  to  it,  nor  could  any  hint 
with  regard  thereto  be  found  in  the  abundant  epis- 
tolary correspondence  of  those  who  at  that  time 
held  communication  with  Zwingli.  The  hospitable 
dwelling  of  the  noble  Zuricher  was  open  to  all  ;  not 
lightly  did  any  person  of  distinction  let  slip  the 
opportunity  of  enjoying  an  interview  with  the 
daring  man.  But  of  our  Laski  report  says  nothing  ; 
so  that  we  must  rest  content  with  his  own  explicit 
statement. 

In    imperishable   remembrance   remain  for   Laski 
these  Basle  days,  which  he  spent  in   spiritual   inter- 

*  Kuyper,  i.  282,  338. 

f  Has  not  Laski  in  this  case,  after  an  interval  of  thirty- 
four  years,  fallen  into  an  error  of  memory  ?  It  can  hardly 
have  been  on  his  way  to  France,  whither  he  travelled  in  the 
company  of  his  brother,  but  must  rather  have  been  during  his 
residence  in  Basle. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     125 

course  with  the  leading  men.  Through  the  agency 
of  his  host,  it  was  only  to  be  expected  that  he 
should  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  household 
which  had  been  for  Erasmus  the  reason  of  his  staying 
in  Basle.  Among  those  who  frequented  the  society 
of  Froben  he  attached  himself  in  particular  to  Boni- 
facius  Amerback,  who  in  1524  had  become  pro- 
fessor of  civil  law  in  Basle,  When  we  contemplate 
the  fine  picture  of  the  young  jurisconsult,  painted  by 
the  hand  of  his  friend  Holbein,  it  is  as  though  we 
were  looking  upon  our  Johannes  in  the  days  of  his 
youth.  And  in  truth,  if  we  had  to  name  among  the 
acquaintances  of  our  friend  in  Basle  a  personality 
having  elective  affinity  for  that  of  our  Laski,  we 
should  have  at  once  to  point  to  this  professor,  of 
about  the  same  age  with  Laski,  as  the  one  who 
presents  the  most  similar  mental  traits.  The 
passages  in  the  letters  of  the  renowned  painter 
concerning  this  his  dearest  friend  read  as  though 
they  were  referring  to  Laski  himself.*  In  them  the 
purity  of  his  character,  his  integrity,  his  conscien- 
tiousness, fidelity  to  duty,  severity  of  morals,  are 
boasted  of.  Then  again  Holbein  dwells  on  the 
charming  gifts  of  social  converse,  his  vivacity,  the 
exuberant  wit  in  conversation,  a  fine  poetic  and 
musical  vein.  People  loved  to  listen  to  the  Pro- 
fessor as  he  played  upon  the  lute  one  of  the  ditties 
composed  by  himself,  perhaps  to  the  then  favourite 
air  "  Adieu,  mes  amors."  In  such  leisure  hours  of 
social  fellowship,  no  doubt  our  Laski  too,  acquainted 
as  he  was  with  music  from  his  university  days,  was 
wont  to  take  his  guitar  in  hand,  to  render  to  his 

*  Woltmann,  Holbein   und'  seine  Zeit  (Leipsic,  1866),  i., 
p.  262. 


126  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

friends  the  songs  of  his  Polish  home.  A  happy 
fortune  has  preserved  to  us  a  number  of  letters  of 
Laski  to  his  friend  A  merbach.  *  Some  of  them  con- 
sist only  of  a  few  lines  upon  a  strip  of  paper  ;  but 
even  the  passing,  everyday  character  of  the  contents 
affords  us  a  charming  glimpse  into  the  easy  famili- 
arity of  the  friendly  intercourse.  The  light-hearted 
Pole  borrows  of  his  well-to-do  friend  smaller  or 
larger  sums  of  money  when  the  store  in  hand  has 
been  exhausted,  and  the  messenger  has  not  yet 
returned  whom  he  has  sent  to  Augsburg  to  draw 
money  upon  his  banker  there,  the  well-known 
Fugger.  Long  after  the  departure  from  Basle  a 
lively  interchange  of  letters  is  kept  up  on  the  part 
of  the  two  friends. 

It  was  an  exceedingly  stimulating  intellectual 
intercourse  which  prevailed  in  Basle  in  those  days, 
and  into  the  full  current  of  which  the  guest  and  com- 
panion of  Erasmus  entered.  The  humanistic  and 
reformational  movement  here  still  advanced  peacefully 
side  by  side,  though,  it  is  true,  in  the  last  steps  of 
such  amicable  walk.  The  heads,  who  on  the  morrow 
were  compelled  to  present  a  hostile  front,  conversed 
with  each  other  to-day,  sometimes  with  a  natvett 
which  appears  astonishing  to  us  at  the  present  time. 
In  social  converse,  you  might  hear  from  the  lips  of 
Erasmus  utterances,  for  instance,  on  the  subject  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  which  assign  to  him  a  position 
further  to  the  left  than  that  taken  even  by  Zwingli. 
The  oppositions  and  distinctions  were  not  yet 
defined,  had  not  as  yet  been  clearly  brought  out  and 
reduced  to  shape.  Thus  one  saw  grouped  around 

*  They  are  to  be  found,  still  unpublished  and  hitherto  un- 
used, in  the  archives  of  the  Antisterium  in  Basle. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     127 


the  old  master,  in  lively  conversation  with  him,  here 
men  like  Oecolampadius  and  Pellican,  there  men  like 
Glarean  and  Beatus  Rhenanus ;  and  our  Laski 
received  and  enjoyed  the  blessing  of  this  twofold 
intercourse.  A  glance  only  at  two  or  three  of  these 
men,  whose  influence  did  not  pass  away  without 
leaving  a  trace  upon  the  vigorous  and  receptive 
inner  life  of  our  friend.* 

With  Oecolampadius  indeed  Laski  had  been 
brought  into  contact  during  his  first  brief  sojourn  in 
Basle,  probably  by  the  agency  of  Farcl,  who  had 
been  the  table-companion  of  the  after-Reformer  of 
Basle.f  Laski  retained  an  honouring  memory  of 
this  eminent  man.  At  the  close  of  two  decades,  his 
judgment  with  regard  to  him  is  still  such  that  he 
thinks  of  him  with  the  highest  respect,  on  account  of 
his  rare  simplicity  and  piety,  combined  with  so  great 
learning.^  The  works  of  the  master  adorn  his 
collection  of  books  ;  he  wishes  to  possess  all  that 
Oecolampadius  has  written.  A  detailed  comparison 
would  show  how  faithful  and  zealous  a  reader  of  his 
works,  specially  of  his  exposition  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, Laski  has  been.  In  the  far-off  home  they 
may  well  have  become  friendly,  solitary  guides  to  the 
Romish  priest,  to  lead  him  more  and  more  deeply 
into  the  understanding  of  the  Scriptures,  and  with 
this,  as  a  logical  and  necessary  consequence,  gradually 

*  The  first  edition  of  Wyclif  s  Trialogus  was  issued  in  this 
year  1525,  according  to  Hardwick  from  the  Basle  press.  If 
this  be  so,  A  Lasco  could  hardly  fail  to  have  heard  its  contents 
discussed. — TR. 

t  Herminjard  (i.  299)  fixes  by  conjecture  upon  Peter  Tous- 
sain  as  the  recorder  of  the  table-talk  mentioned  by  this 
author.  May  it  not,  however,  have  been  our  Laski,  the  vir 
integritatis  rarissimcs  P 

\  Kuyper,  ii.  576. 


J28  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

but  surely  to  free  him  from  the  spell  of  the  Romish 
tradition  and  error. 

When  often  in  later  years  the  Basle  days  stood  in 
attractive  beauty  before  the  spirit's  eye  of  Laski,  it 
was  the  form  of  Conrad  Pellican  in  particular  which 
in  memory  heartily  saluted  him.  As  yet,  in  the 
garb  of  a  superior  of  the  Minorite  order,  and  with 
faithful  touching  attachment  to  the  quiet  contempla- 
tive cloister  life,  the  honest  simple  scholar  nevertheless 
already  heard  in  those  days  such  ringing  herald  calls 
for  the  Reformation  sounding  forth  over  the  land. 
A  fair,  heartily  genial,  and  withal  decided  and 
upright  form  in  the  circle  of  those  towering  men  of 
Basle,  is  that  of  Pellican,  who,  animated  by  the  most 
affecting  zeal  for  the  studies  of  humanity,  ever  enters 
more  warmly,  more  consciously  upon  the  path  of  the 
Reformation.*  Laski  felt  himself  in  a  high  degree 
attracted  by  the  man,  to  whom  similarly  attuned 
chords  of  the  soul  attached  him.  After  an  interrup- 
tion of  twenty  years,  he  renews  the  old  relations  in 
a  letter  to  the  tutor  and  companion  in  studies, 
through  which  there  runs  so  heartfelt  a  note  of 

*  What  a  delicious  counterpart  to  that  eagerness  for  learn- 
ing and  teaching  on  the  part  of  Platter  (of  whom  mention  has 
been  made  above)  is  afforded  by  the  charming  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  Pellican  came  into  the  possession  of  the  first 
Hebrew  manuscript !  Compare  Riggenbach,  Das  Chronikon 
des  Konrad  Pellikan  (Basle,  1877),  p.  16  :  "  Post  aliquot  dies 
superveniens  Paulus  Scriptoris,  magnum  codicem  gestaverat 
in  humeris,  talis  et  tantus  vir,  a  Moguntia  ad  Pfortzen,  in 
studiis  et  desideriis  meis  gratificaretur,  quae  probabat  valde, 
quum  ipse  quoque  jam  antea  graeca  didicerat,  a  Reuchlino 
eatenus  instructus,  ut  epistolium  graece  eidem  scriptum  a 
Paulo  viderim  et  legerim.  Nihil  in  eum  diem  mihi  acciderat 
gratius,  quam  ubi  eum  codicem  grandem  hebraicum  viderem 
mihi  allatum  :  erat  autem  volumen  in  pergameno  scriptum, 
elegantissimo  charactere,  magnifice,  et  cum  masoreth,  tantae 
amplitudinis,  quantum  praestare  posset  cutis  Integra  vitulina." 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     129 

longing,  one  might  almost  say  of  home-sickness,  that 
one  cannot  help  inferring  the  existence  of  a  most 
intimate  fellowship.*  Pellican  had  been  the  instructor 
of  the  Polish  dean  in  the  Hebrew  language.  The 
Reformer  in  Friesland  bitterly  bewails  that  these 
studies  were  then  so  early  broken  off  by  his  sudden 
departure  to  his  native  land,  since  then  he  had  lost 
the  knowledge  of  this  language.  Not  the  Hebrew 
language  alone  did  Laski  acquire  at  the  feet  of  this 
man.  Oecolampadius  had  already  begun  some  years 
before  to  expound  Isaiah  and  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  in  a  scientific  form  to  his  students,  while  he 
expounded  the  epistles  of  John  in  a  series  of  devo- 
tional meditations  to  the  townsmen,  and  that  amidst 
a  great  influx  of  the  people  to  his  lectures.  The 
animating  example  of  the  homily  was  followed  by  our 
superior  of  the  Minorites,  and  with  him  by  one  and 
another  devout  cloister  brother.  Just  at  this  time 
Pellican  was  expounding  Genesis.t  We  certainly 
do  not  err  in  conjecturing  that  Laski  was  among  the 
audience ;  and  then  he  was  able  to  discover  the 
heart's  wish  of  the  teacher,  "  that  only  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  may  come,  the  Gospel  might  be  preached, 
and  received  with  believing  ears."  The  Bishop  of 
Basle,  Christopher  von  UttenJieim,  to  whom  the 
nephew  of  the  Archbishop  of  Gnesen  was  no  stranger, 
was  not  at  that  time  unkindly  disposed  towards 
such  endeavours  ;  their,  as  we  should  say,  necessary 
bearing  had  not  yet  become  sufficiently  apparent, 
and  Oecolampadius  could  still  dedicate  to  the  devout 
and  withal  learned  Bishop  his  contemplations  on  the 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  583. 

f  See  his  charming  letter  to  Pirkheimer  in  Heumann,  p. 
209. 


,30  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

epistles  of  John,  which  appeared  in  print  in  the  year 
1524. 

While  these  two  men  had  entered  with  decided 
step  upon  the  path  of  the  Reformation,  two  other 
attractive  forms  meet  us  in  the  animating  surround- 
ings of  Laski  at  Basle,  men  who  were  not  drawn 
away  from  the  narrowly  circumscribed  domain  of 
Humanism  in  the  high  floodtide  of  intellectual 
movement  on  this  side  of  the  Alps.  On  the 
equipoise  indeed  stands  the  one,  Beatus  Rhenanus. 
Once  the  highly  gifted  scholar  of  Lefevre  in  Paris,  then 
in  Basle  the  intimate  friend  of  Erasmus,  he  did  not 
break  with  this  old  master  of  the  studies  of  humanity 
when  the  latter  fell  out  with  the  Reformers  and  retired 
to  Freiburg  as  a  sort  of  pouting  corner.  That  did 
not  hinder  our  brave  Alsatian  from  diffusing  from 
time  to  time  the  writings  of  Luther  in  Switzerland 
and  greeting  Zwingli  in  an  interesting  letter  on  the 
latter's  entering  upon  the  pastoral  office  in  Zurich.* 
His  main  strength,  however,  lay  in  the  domain  of 
Humanism.  Erasmus  estimated  at  no  low  rate  the 
merit  of  the  highly  cultured  scholar.  To  him  he 
dedicated  the  beautiful  exposition  of  the  first  Psalm, 
with  the  epigrammatic  words,  "  Mitto  Beatum 
Beato,"  "  I  send  the  blessed  man  [of  the  Psalm]  to 
Beatus "  (the  blessed  one).  This  man  could  not 
remain  a  stranger  to  the  constant  companion  of 
Erasmus.  Laski  also  participated  in  the  far-reaching 
studies  of  the  scholar  ;  and  such  fruit-bearing 
participation  demanded  an  exact  and  loving  appre- 
ciation of  the  Roman  historians.  For  RJienanus 
published  not  unimportant  critical  labours  on  Tacitus, 

*  Zwingli,    Works  of,  edited  by  Schiller  and  Schultheis 
(Zurich,  1828),  vii.,  p.  57. 


7HE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     131 

Livy,  Pliny  the  elder,  and  Velleius  Paterculus,  during 
the  time  of  the  sojourn  of  Laski  in  Basle.  Even 
after  his  return  to  his  native  land  Laski  continues 
in  lively  correspondence  with  the  Humanists.  The 
distinguished  Pole  was  looked  upon  by  these  men  as 
a  Maecenas.  Rhenmins  on  one  occasion,  in  a  letter 
to  Laski,  expressly  emphasises  the  fact  that  he 
has  dedicated  a  little  work  to  his  far-off  friend,  not — 
as  had  become  in  an  increasing  degree  the  manner, 
or  rather  the  sadly  repulsive  unmannerliness,  among 
the  Humanists  of  that  day — in  order  to  receive  a 
present  from  prosperous  and  affluent  patrons  but  in 
grateful  remembrance  of  former  benefits  he  had 
received  from  him  in  Basle,  of  the  warm  affection 
Laski  had  at  all  times  manifested  for  him.* 

The  other  prominent  form  in  the  circle  of  our 
Laski's  acquaintances,  Henry  Glarcan,  separated 
himself  in  an  equally  decided  manner  as  Erasmus, 
in  the  progress  of  development,  from  the  Reforma- 
tion. A  finely  cultured  Humanist  was  Glarean,  at 
first  equally  intimate  with  Zwingli  as  with  Erasmus. 
This  state  of  things,  however,  had  already  become 
essentially  changed  at  the  time  when  Laski  went 
to  live  with  Erasmus.  For  him  the  Reformational 
movement  was  a  painful  interruption  in  his  agreeable 
course  of  study.  He  got  angrily  out  of  the  path  of 
the  Reformation,  and  of  course  also  of  the  leaders 


*  Gabbema,  Epistolarum  Centuries  Tres  (Harlingae,  1663), 
p.  10. — Among  the  works  edited  by  Rhenanus  and  issued 
from  the  press  of  Froben  not  long  before  the  time  of  Laski's 
stay  in  Basle  was  a  volume  of  the  collected  writings  of 
Tertullian  (1521),  to  which  he  furnished  a  valuable  argument 
at  the  head  of  the  several  books.  The  rapturous  joy  of  the 
scholar  on  his  acquisition  of  the  MS.  is  described  by  him  with 
much  animation  in  the  preface  lying  before  me. — TR. 


i32  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  the  host,  broke  off  in  an  ill  humour  the  old 
associations  of  friendship,  and  as  time  went  on 
turned  more  and  more  aside  to  walk,  hand  in  hand 
with  Erasmus,  in  lonely  embittered  ways.  The 
influence  of  such  a  personality  could  not  fail  to  leave 
its  traces  upon  the  mind  of  our  Laski.  Upon  a 
promising  start  towards  the  Reformation,  to  which 
our  Pole  had  already  received  no  small  incitement, 
such  association  must  act  only  as  a  drag  ;  the  great 
men  of  the  Reformation  approached  him  only  in  the 
reflection  which  their  form  assumed  upon  the 
field  of  vision  of  these  one-sided,  narrow-minded 
Humanists  ;  and  almost  from  month  to  month  this 
reflection  became,  in  the  irritated  mood  of  these 
fiercely  assailed  people,  a  more  distorted  one.  The 
smitten  and,  moreover,  severely  wounded  ones  in  the 
exasperated,  unsparing  conflict  made  the  refined 
and  sensitive  Pole  but  too  conscious  of  the  often 
grievous  sting  of  a  harsh  mode  of  expression.  We 
cannot  then  wonder  if  the  desire  was  wanting  to 
him  for  penetrating,  despite  such  an  unpromising 
exterior,  to  the  heart  and  core  of  the  controversy. 
He  felt  himself,  with  his  injured  friends,  repelled  by 
the  method  of  the  conflict,  and  then  quickly  trans- 
ferred to  the  assailants  the  aversion  he  had  thus 
conceived.  The  prospect,  still  regarded  as  a  hopeful 
one  by  these  Humanist  friends,  instead  of  coming 
to  an  open  violent  rupture  with  the  Church,  labouring 
at  the  peaceful  cleansing  of  it  from  the  evils  admitted 
by  them  to  exist  therein,  must  be  more  in  accord 
with  his  whole  character,  strengthened  as  this  was 
by  his  position  in  the  national  Church  of  his  native 
land.  With  Glarean  our  Laski  seems  to  have  lived 
on  most  intimate  terms.  After  years  of  separation 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     133 


the  busy  and  exceedingly  diligent  Humanist  keeps 
the  distant  high -placed  ecclesiastic  fully  informed  of 
the  course  of  his  studies.  We  find  among  his 
correspondence  with  Laski  communications  on  the 
arithmetic  of  the  ancients ;  the  most  difficult 
questions  of  ancient  music  are  treated  ;  then  again 
information  is  given  of  his  collection  of  notes  on  Livy, 
studies  which  even  in  our  own  day  have  received 
consideration  from  a  man  like  Niebulir,  and  which 
Glarean  would  certainly  not  have  conmunicated  to 
his  friend  unless  he  had  been  previously  assured  of 
the  hearty  participation  of  the  latter.* 

But  we  too  at  last  have  to  bid  farewell  to  Basle, 
and  to  leave  the  attractive  circle  of  men  in  whose 
midst  A  Lasco  was  so  fully  at  home,  and  over  whom 
our  description  has  already  lingered  too  long.  More 
suddenly  than  he  expected,  and  certainly  than  he 
hoped,  he  had  to  break  the  bonds  which  now 
attached  him  and  quit  that  city  in  which  he  had 
known  a  happiness  such  as  in  no  other,  not  even  in 
his  native  land. 

5.  THE  RETURN  HOME  BY  WAY  OF  ITALY. 

It  was  in  September,  1525,  that  Jerome^  the  much- 
travelled  royal  ambassador,  again  charged  with  a 
diplomatic  mission,  made  a  call  upon  Erasmus  in 
Basle.  He  brought  at  the  same  time  to  his  brother 
a  decided  instruction  from  home  to  leave  Basle 
without  delay  and  to  enter  upon  his  homeward 
journey  in  slow  stages  by  way  of  Italy.  The  state 
of  affairs  in  Poland  had  come  to  such  a  pass  as  to 


*  Compare    Gabbema,    p.    1 1    seq. ;     Herzog,   Rcal-Ency- 
clopddie  (Stuttgart,  185^  seq.),  v..  p.  i6~. 


i34  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

render  desirable  the  return  of  the  youthful  and 
gifted  provost.  More  severe  measures  had  been 
taken  during  the  absence  of  Laski  against  the  poison 
of  the  Reformation,  now  ever  more  widely  spreading  ; 
it  was  deemed  imperatively  necessary  to  concentrate 
the  forces  which  it  was  hoped  to  turn  to  account  in 
the  event  of  the  outbreak  of  a  conflict.  Men 
reckoned  likewise  upon  the  nephew  of  the  Primate 
and  friend  of  Erasmus  as  a  meet  champion  of  the 
threatened  Church.  His  two  brothers  had  already 
acknowledged  their  colours  ;  they  were  the  decidedly 
ecclesiastical  colours,  the  anti-Reformational  colours 
of  the  house  of  Laski  ;  the  same  thing,  it  was  almost 
taken  for  granted,  would  be  the  case  with  the  rising 
ecclesiastical  prince. 

The  royal  ambassador  handed  to  Erasmus  the 
passionate  and  venomous  attack  upon  Luther  and 
his  adherents  from  the  pen  of  that  Bishop  Krzycki 
already  unfavourably  known  to  us.*  To  employ  the 
friend  of  Erasmus  on  such  an  errand,  in  order  in 
this  way  to  enter  into  personal  communication  with 
the  revered  head  of  the  Humanists — for  this,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  mean-spirited  defamer,  the  nephew 
of  his  hated  archbishop  was  after  all  good  enough. 
At  the  National  Diet  of  1523  the  Bishop,  as  a 
talented  and  facile  writer,  was  urged  to  the  under- 
taking of  this  treatise  alike  by  the  King  and  by  his 
colleagues,  though  certainly  the  unbridled  character 
of  its  contents  made  up  no  part  of  their  instruction. 
He  now  acknowledges,  in  an  accompanying  letter  to 

*  Unfortunately  the  document  has  not  fallen  into  my  hands, 
even  in  the  ample  libraries  of  St.  Petersburg ;  its  contents 
have  come  into  my  possession  only  from  excerpts  and  notices 
in  other  works. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     135 


Erasmus,  that  the  form  of  the  work  was  influenced 
by  the  wish  which  guided  him  in  its  composition, 
that,  namely,  of  weakening  the  force  of  the  suspicion 
that  he  himself  rendered  a  secret  fealty  to  the  views 
of  Luther*  As  it  happens  with  common  minds 
which  love  not  the  truth,  he  accomplished  this  end 
by  freely  reviling  his  opponent.  It  does  not  appear 
that  Lutlier  ever  saw  the  production  ;  at  least,  I  have 
not  found  in  his  writings  any  passage  referring  to  it. 
If  he  had  seen  the  calumnious  book,  it  would  perhaps 
have  been  dismissed  with  the  words,  "  Devil,  thou 
liest  !  Buffoon,  how  thou  liest !  O  Hans  Wolfen- 
biittel,  what  a  shameless  liar  art  thou,  ventest  much 
and  sayest  nothing,  ragest  and  provest  nothing  !"f 
Erasmus  did  not  enter  upon  a  review  of  the  docu- 
ment ;  it  was  thus  perhaps  too  strong  for  him.J  He 
returned  the  gift  by  the  present  of  a  work  from  the 
pen  of  Tonstall,  Bishop  of  London,  a  man  who 
opposed  the  Reformation  with  the  same  passionate 
hatred. 

Hardly  did  the  Polish  friend  and  guest  find  time 
to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  purport  of  this 
invective  missive  from  his  native  land.  He  was  on 
the  point  of  taking  his  departure.  It  had  been 
planned  that  he  should  pass  by  way  of  the  Alps 
into  Upper  Italy,  should  make  a  stay  for  a  while 
in  Padua  and  Venice,  and  there  await  further 
directions  as  to  the  time  and  route  of  his  return. 
Erasmus  furnishes  his  friend,  as  though  he  had  been 
a  dear  son,  with  letters  of  introduction  to  the  leading 
Humanists  in  those  cities  where  Laski  proposed  to 
make  a  stay.  And  with  what  warmth  of  language 

*  Compare  Tomiciana,  vii.  344.  f  Luther,  xxvi.  6. 

\  Erasmus,  p.  783. 


136  JOHN  A   LA  SCO, 

did  he  commend  him  to  such  men  as  Egnatius, 
Lupsetus,  Casimbrotus,  himself  the  prince  of 
Humanists !  * 

On    the  5th   October,    1525,  Laski  set  out  from 
Basle.f      He    was  accompanied  on    his  journey    by 
Karl  Utenkove,   a   gifted    young   man    from    Ghent, 
who   lived    with  Erasmus  as  a  sort   of  amanuensis, 
was  frequently  employed  by  him,  specially  on  the 
occasion  of  despatching  important  letters,  and  now 
again    was   commissioned   to  convey  a    message  to 
Rome.     As  regards   his  Latin,  the  master  has,  it  is 
true,  to   complain    that   the  man   of  Ghent   did   not 
employ  the  classical  language  with  the  same  ease  and 
skill  as  the  young  friend   from   Poland  ;  but  he  was 
pleased  with  the  faithful  devotion  of  the  Fleming, 
and   association  with  him   afforded   a  solace   to  the 
now  elderly  man.J     We  are  specially  interested  in 
this  travelling  companion  from  the  fact  that  probably 
on  this  journey  to  Rome  the  bonds  of   attachment 
were  formed  with  the  family  which  after  decades  of 
years  so  closely  and   faithfully  bound  John,  the  half- 
brother  of  this  Charles,  to  our  Laski.      Charles,  too, 
was  a  welcome  companion    to  him   on    the  way  ;  A 
Lasco  informs  his  Amerbach  concerning  him,  that  he 
could  not  have  wished  a  more  faithful   guide   or   a 
more  agreeable  comrade. 

The  first  letter  preserved  to  us  from  the  time  of 
these  travels  was  written  at  Venice,  26th  November, 


*  Erasmus,  p.  770,. 

t  Erasmus  describes  the  parting  in  the  strong  words, 
"  Multos  homines  et  inter  hos  Erasmum  occidit,  tantum  sui 
desiderium  reliquit  abiens,  cum  quibuscunque  habuit  con- 
suetudinem  "  (784). 

\  Herminjard,  ii.  183. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     137 

1525,    full    of  longing  after   the   friends  at   Basle.* 
Whether  the  travellers  tarried  so  long  on  the  route, 
or  a  stay  of  some  weeks  in  Padua  had  already  pre- 
ceded, cannot  be  learnt.      For  the  present  our  friend 
remained    a    considerable   time    in    the   city   of  the 
doges ;    he  had    sent    a   messenger  to    Cracow,  the 
return  of  whom  he  had  to  await.      He  was,  however, 
at    this    time   strongly    drawn    towards    Spain.      In 
Madrid,  in  a  narrow  chamber  of  one  of  the  towers 
of  the  fortifications  (with  a  gloomy  outlook  upon  the 
desolate  bank  of  the   Manzanares),f  Francis  I.  was 
languishing    in    ignominious    captivity.      His    proud 
entry  into  Bologna  as  victor  at  Marignano  had  been 
witnessed  by  the  brothers  Laski,  then  all  unconscious 
that  one  of  them  would  be  the  King's  faithful  com- 
panion in  captivity.     From  the  time  that  Jerome  took 
with  him  his  two  brothers  upon  the  embassy  (1523), 
Stanislas  had  remained  at  the  court  of  the  French 
king.     Francis  I.  had   taken  much  pleasure  in  the 
refined     young     Pole,     so     greatly     skilled     in    the 
languages,  who,  moreover,  distinguished  himself  in  all 
knightly  arts,  and  had  assigned  him  a  position   in 
his  own   immediate  surroundings.      Henceforth  Sta- 
nislas did  not  quit  the  King's  side.     He  accompanied 
him  on  his  expedition  to  Italy,  spent  with  him  the 

*  "Plane  video,  Amerbachie  clarissime,  verum  esse comitem 
voluptatis  moerorem,  qui  cum  incredibilem  semper  ex  tua 
consuetudine  sim  solitus  capere  et  voluptatem  et  fructum, 
nunc  tanto  ejus  desiderio  tenear,  ut  non  litteris  modo  sed  nee 
verbis  quidem  explicere  satis  possum.  .  .  .  Jamque  vale 
amicorum  amicissime  et  me  ut  coepisti  ama  et  Erasmo  meo 
subinde  commendes,  Glareano  nunc  profecto  scribere  non 
narravit.  Eum  tuum  et  Beatum  ac  etiam  Pellicanum  meum  ex 
me  cupio  diligenter  salutari." 

t  Michelet,  Histoire  de  France  au  XVI.  Siecle  (Paris, 
1851),  viii.,  p.  251. 


i38  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


winter  of  1524  in  Lombardy,*  and  then  also 
suffered  with  him  the  disgrace  of  Pavia.  Laski  was 
among  the  number  of  the  captives  ;  as  a  Pole,  how- 
ever, he  received  his  liberty,  but  remained  of  free 
choice  in  the  train  of  the  royal  prisoner.  At  first 
he  hastened  to  Paris  to  communicate  the  sad 
tidings ;  thence  he  journeyed  to  Madrid,  whither 
the  King  had  been  taken.  In  the  murky  winter 
days  the  King  was  shut  up  without  a  prospect  in 
the  solitary  tower.  Johannes  would  fain  pay  a  visit 
to  his  noble-hearted  brother.  It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that  he  received  in  those  days  the  intelligence 
of  the  latter's  departure.  Margaret  of  Valois  had 
repaired  with  all  speed  to  join  her  suffering,  so 
dearly  beloved  brother.  The  journey  was  certainly 
a  hazardous  enterprise,  but  one  which  the  self- 
sacrificing  sisterly  love  of  the  royal  mignonne  did 
not  for  a  moment  shrink  from  undertaking.  Her 
coming  restored  the  drooping  brother  to  life. 
When,  a  few  weeks  later,  she  returned  to  France, 
she  took  with  her  the  faithful  Pole  as  a  travelling 
companion,  f  For  the  Polish  ambassador  in  Toledo, 
the  renowned  John  Dantisctts,  the  departure  of  his 
influential  countryman  had  proved  very  inconvenient ; 
he  had  hoped  to  be  able  through  his  interven- 
tion to  transmit  certain  letters  to  the  Emperor  when 
the  latter  held  his  first  interview  with  his  royal 
captive,  at  which  no  ambassador  was  suffered  to  be 
present. 

Week  after  week  passed  away  for  our  Laski  in 

*  Michelet  (viii.  228)  cites  the  passage  of  Guicciardini, 
"  Le  roi  s'amusait,  donnant  tout  au  plaisir,  rien  aux  affaires. 
Unhiver  d'ltalie,  passe  ainsi,  lui  semblait  assez  doux." 

+  Tomiciana,  viii.  310. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     139 

Venice  without  the  return  of  the  messenger  de- 
spatched by  him  ;  as  late  as  January  in  the  following 
year  he  had  not  reached  Cracow.  Laski  bewailed 
his  fate  as  one  murdered  on  the  road,  an  event  of 
only  too  frequent  occurrence  in  those  troubled 
days,  in  which  disorder  prevailed  on  all  the  high- 
ways. A  winter  spent  in  Venice  was  even  at  that 
time  a  delight  for  which  one  would  willingly  pay 
by  the  uncertainty  as  to  that  which  was  to  be  begun 
in  the  immediate  future.  Most  of  the  Poles  of  good 
position  were  wont  to  alight  at  the  Fondaco  de 
Tedeschi,  a  still  imposing  edifice  to  the  east  of  the 
Rialto  Bridge  on  the  Grand  Canal.  The  wealthy 
and  tasteful  German  merchants  had  not  spared  the 
adornment  of  their  property  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
the  then  queen  of  the  seas  ;  and  Venice  entertained 
in  those  days,  to  an  extent  hardly  reached  before  or 
since,  a  multitude  of  artists,  in  order  to  give  the 
most  perfect  expression  as  regards  form  to  such  an 
endeavour  in  every  province.  Titian  and  Giorgione 
vied  with  each  other  in  exhibiting  the  best  products 
of  their  art  upon  the  German  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
On  the  side  nearest  the  canal  the  pictures  were  still 
fresh  upon  the  building  which  Giorgione  had  painted 
as  an  art-decoration  ;  and  Titian,  whose  genius  was 
now  entering  upon  its  lofty  flight,  had  continued 
them.  What  must  then  a  sail  in  the  gondola  have 
been  along  the  Canale  Grande,  where  all  these 
glories,  then  just  called  into  existence,  saluted  one 
in  a  vigorous  present, — not  as  now,  looked  down,  as 
from  a  lost  world,  strangely  and  sadly  upon  such 
entirely  different  surroundings  ?  Whether  Laski  was 
brought  into  more  intimate  connection  with  Titian 
(as  he  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Holbein  at 


1 40  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Basle  in  the  house  of  his  friend  Amerbach\  all  in- 
formation is  wanting  to  us  ;  we  are  rather  inclined 
to  doubt  it.  Just  at  this  time  Titian  was  contract- 
ing a  friendship  with  the  worthless  Aretino,  and  so 
long  as  this  continued  the  pure-minded  Laski  could 
find  there  no  point  of  attachment. 

We  have  mainly  indeed  to  seek  our  friend  in  the 
circle  of  the  leading  Humanists,  to  whom  he  had  been 
introduced  by  Erasmus  with  such  warm  commenda- 
tion. Erasmus,  in  after-letters,  gives  thanks  alike 
to  Casimbrotus  and  to  the  renowned  Egnatius  for 
the  hearty  reception  accorded  by  each  of  these  men 
to  his  Polish  friend.*  The  intimate  associate  of 
Froben  and  of  Amerbach  would  certainly  when  in 
Venice  have  the  entrance  to  the  house  of  the  no  less 
eminent  master-printer  Aldus.  The  best  houses 
were  open  to  the  young  Pole.  It  is  true  the  Doge, 
to  whom  the  uncle  of  Laski  had  more  than  a  decade 
before  delivered  the  royal  message,  was  no  longer 
living.  His  successor,  too,  the  almost  nonagenarian 
Grimani,  whose  firm  characteristic  expression  of 
countenance  stands  forth  livingly  before  our  eyes  in 
the  immortal  drawings  of  Titian,  was  already  dead  ; 
and  Andrew  Gritti  now  wore  the  proud  tiara.  He 
had  in  earlier  years  pined  as  a  prisoner  in  Constanti- 
nople, was  companion  of  the  changing  fortune  of 
Francis  I.  in  Italy,  and  yet  astute  and  adroit  enough 
to  keep  his  Venetian  army  out  of  the  battle  of  Pavia. 
Gloomy  days  had  supervened  for  the  maritime  supre- 
macy of  Venice  :  away  in  the  East  the  Sultan,  with 
evil  boding,  was  raising  his  victorious  head,  a  source 
of  anxiety  to  two  powers  alike — Poland,  whose  fron- 

*  Compare  Erasmus,  pp.  1105,  1107. 


THE  OTHER  STUDENT  TRA  VELS  ABROAD.     141 


tiers  were  contiguous  to  those  of  Turkey,  and 
Venice,  the  queen  of  the  Mediterranean.  In  the 
sense  of  common  danger  to  both  peoples,  the  presence 
of  the  nephew  of  the  Polish  primate  will  not  have 
passed  unobserved,  albeit  no  notification  of  a  meeting 
between  Laski  and  the  Doge  has  been  preserved  to 
us. 

Already  February  was  approaching,  and  still  the 
messenger  from  Cracow  had  not  arrived,  nor  had  any 
intelligence  from  thence  come  to  hand  with  new 
instructions  as  to  the  course  of  action.  Before 
Easter  (ist  April)  Laski  with  certainty  expected  a 
decision  ;  perhaps  the  issue  might  be,  as  he  mentions 
to  his  friend  in  Basle,  that  ere  his  return  he  would 
once  more  pay  a  visit  to  Switzerland  and  France. 
The  delay  was  painful  to  him.  He  had  borrowed  of 
Amerbach  money  for  the  journey,  and,  through  the 
failure  of  the  messenger  to  appear,  was  unable  to 
liquidate  the  debt  within  the  given  period.  At 
length,  in  March,  the  long-wished-for  tidings  from 
home  came  to  hand,  and  the  return  journey  was  at 
once  entered  upon.  As  early  as  the  8th  of  April  he 
is  able  to  report  his  arrival  in  Posen.  Here  he  has 
soon  discovered  in  the  busy  trading  city  merchants 
who  are  going  to  Basle,  and  are  ready  to  take  with 
them  a  part  of  the  sum  to  which  he  was  indebted. 
They  carry  also  valuable  presents  to  the  friend  in 
Basle  :  two  sable-skins  and  two  bundles  of  ermine- 
skins. 

Only  two  days  does  Laski  make  his  abode  in 
Posen,  and  then  hastens  on  to  Cracow>  where,  after 
an  absence  of  two  years  and  a  half,  he  arrives  in  the 
middle  of  April. 


VI. 


THE   LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC  IN  HIS 
NATIVE  LAND. 

i.  TRYING  EXPERIENCES  AT  HOME. 

MORE  difficult  than  ten  years  before  was  it  now 
to  our  Laski  to  adapt  himself  to  the  old 
relations  in  his  native  land.  Even  in  those  days, 
in  which  Poland  was  preparing  to  ascend  to  the 
culminating  point  in  its  history,  it  was  not  easy  for  a 
child  of  that  land  who  had  breathed  for  a  few  years 
the  different  atmosphere  in  the  haunts  of  the 
Humanists  at  once  to  feel  himself  in  his  right  place 
and  at  his  ease  again  at  home. 

At  first  the  eyes  were  turned  backward,  in  spirit 
at  least,  to  prolong  his  life  with  his  friends.  An 
active  interchange  of  letters  was  kept  up ;  only  isolated 
fragments  has  a  happy  destiny  preserved  to  us, — 
more  of  letters  to  Laski,  than  it  has  of  those  from  his 
hand.  A  fortunate  discovery  of  some  of  the  latter, 
which  agreeably  supplement  the  few  specimens  in 
the  Complete  Edition*  leads  to  the  hope  that,  here  or 
there  in  ancient  collections  of  manuscripts,  there 
may  yet  lie  hidden  letters  which  shall  afford  to  a 

0  Kuyper  (ii.  547,  548)  has  only  two  letters  of  Laski  for  a 
period  of  fourteen  years,  strictly  speaking,  for  the  first  forty 
years  of  his  life.  Fourteen  others  were  placed  at  our  disposal. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      143 


later  and  more  favoured  explorer  welcome  reward 
for  researches  often  so  toilsome  and  fruitless.  From 
the  letters  of  his  friends,  too,  we  are  able  to  discover 
what  the  contents  of  Laskis  letters  may  have  been. 
The  old  companions  in  study  enable  him  to  share  in 
the  progress  of  their  scientific  labours  ;  even  those 
courses  of  their  investigations  apparently  most 
remote,  they  do  not  deem  too  much  out  of  the  way 
for  them  to  invite  Laski  to  accompany  them  therein, 
by  means  of  detailed  communications.  Here  an 
erewhile  companion  in  study  dedicates  to  him  a  work 
on  geography  ;  there  he  is  by  another  kept  fully 
informed  concerning  his  edition  of  an  ancient  classic; 
then  again  he  receives  desired  information  as  to  the 
art  of  music  among  the  ancients  ;  in  short,  we  see 
how  the  energetic  impulse  after  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  his  master  Erasmus  has  passed  over  to  our 
Laski,  who  enthusiastically  names  himself  the  scholar 
of  Erasmus.  Briefer  and  more  scanty  are  the  com- 
munications concerning  the  great  world-moving 
questions  of  the  day.  Hardly  more  than  so  far  as 
the  high-swelling  waves  penetrate  into  the  work- 
room of  the  scholar  does  the  nephew  of  the  Primate 
of  Poland  receive  intelligence  thereof,  mostly  allu- 
sions conveyed  in  a  peevish  humour,  because  coming 
from  those  who  feel  themselves  hard-pressed  and 
straitened  by  the  resistless  current  of  events,  and 
wish  only  for  a  quiet  corner  of  the  earth  where  they 
may  weave  their  web  around  them,  and  be  able  to 
sulk  over  the  course  of  events,  which  so  essentially 
contradicts  their  cherished  expectations. 

Mere  epistolary  correspondence  did  not  afford 
sufficient  amends  to  our  friend,  in  his  sense  of 
isolation,  for  the  copious  enjoyment  of  personal 


144  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


intercourse.  As  he  receives  tidings  of  a  dangerous 
illness  of  Erasmus,  he  would  fain  leave  everything 
as  it  stands,  and  hasten  to  the  bedside  of  the 
revered  master,  to  enjoy  with  him  the  last  hours  of 
social  communion.  But  the  duties  of  his  vocation 
hold  him  fast  with  indissoluble  bonds.  Thus  he 
seeks  to  attract  the  friends  to  Poland.  Within  a 
very  little  he  had  succeeded  in  prevailing  on  his 
dearest  companion  Amerbach  to  make  such  a  change 
of  abode.  There  is  still  preserved  a  letter  from 
Amerbach  to  Zasius,  belonging  to  the  year  1526,* 
in  which  the  Basle  jurisconsult  relates  that  he  had 
a  few  days  before  (the  letter  was  written  on  [2 1st 
August]  the  Tuesday  before  St.  Bartholomew's  Day) 
received  from  JoJm  a  Lasco  a  call  to  Poland  upon 
the  most  brilliant  terms  ;  eventually,  however,  he 
decides  on  remaining  in  Basle,  from  the  consideration 
that  he  cannot  leave  his  friends,  and  from  that 
lively  home-feeling  which  makes  us,  as  he  beauti- 
fully expresses  himself,  think  the  smoke  of  our 
native  country  more  bright  than  the  fire  of  a  strange 
land  ("  dein  quod  ita  nobis  natura  insitum  est,  ut 
fumum  patrium  igni  alieno  luculentiorem  credamus  "). 
In  those  days  there  was  prevailing  in  general 
throughout  Poland  the  wish  to  afford  a  refuge  for 
illustrious  men,  specially  such  scholars  as,  being 
discontented  with  the  noisy  progress  of  events, 
desired  for  themselves  a  sequestered  retreat. 
Krzycki  in  glowing  language  invited  Erasmus  to 
flee  from  the  agitation  without  to  the  quiet  Poland, 
where  untroubled  he  could  live  for  his  studies,  and 
undisturbed  could  enjoy  the  high  esteem  and 

*  Stinzing,  Ulrich  Zasius  (Basle,  1857),   P-  373 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      145 


homage  of  the  Polish  nobility,  liberally  rendered  to 
this  king  of  science.  But  Erasmus  rightly  judged 
even  Poland  to  be  no  longer  such  a  lauded  place  of 
shelter.* 

For  an  enjoyable  life  of  quiet,  in  epistolary 
correspondence  with  his  friends  without,  our  Laski 
had  not  been  recalled  to  his  native  land.  The 
nephew  of  the  Archbishop  of  Gnesen  already 
occupied  too  high  a  post  for  the  fatherland  in  the 
distresses  which  threatened  it  not  also  to  have 
counted  upon  him.  In  the  opinion  of  Erasmus,  the 
Church  needed  just  such  men  as  he  had  discovered, 
in  such  brilliant  prominence,  in  this  his  youthful 
friend.  He  writes  to  the  Bishop  of  Plozk  that  no 
one  can  be  of  more  salutary  influence  for  the 
Church  of  the  present  day  than  men  who,  to  their 
deep  regret,  have  been  called  away  from  their 
charming  studies  of  philosophy  in  order  by  their 
counsel  to  aid  the  fatherland.t  This  advice,  however, 
so  far  as  it  aimed  at  Laski,  was  distrusted ; 
and  our  friend  had  first  to  clear  himself  of  the 
suspicion  which  had  cast  a  dark  shadow  upon  him. 
While  the  Dean  of  Gnesen  was  dwelling  so  long 
abroad,  especially  in  Basle — whence  full  many  an 
evil  report  had  reached  Cracow,  that  there  also  the 
terrible  heresy  was  already  gaining  ever  firmer 
ground — the  intelligence  reached  his  native  land, 
that  this  priest  of  the  Romish  Church  had  already 
in  Zurich  visited  Zwingli  (whose  name,  it  is  true, 
was  not  so  well  known,  and  therefore  not  in  such 

*  Erasmus,   p.  1127. 

f  Ibid.,  p.  1127:  "  Orbi  christiano  nulli  sunt  magis  utiles 
quam  qui  reluctantes  a  philosophise  dulcissimis  studiis  ad 
patriae  consulendum  revocantur." 

IO 


146  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


ill-repute,  as  that  of  Luther],  and  rumour  was  at 
once  busy,  particularly  in  the  circles  hostile  and 
adversely  disposed  towards  the  Archbishop,  in  brand- 
ing the  nephew  of  the  Primate  as  a  heretic,  and 
declaring  of  him  that  he  had,  like  so  many  a  priest, 
already  taken  a  wife.  If  he  had  only  followed 
the  hundredfold-repeated  example  in  the  Church  of 
his  native  land,  and  associated  with  a  woman  for 
lust,  the  accusation  would  not  have  been  so 
aggravated  ;  but  to  wish  lifelong  to  share  sorrow 
and  joy  with  a  legitimate  wife  in  faithful  covenant, 
well-pleasing  to  God,  that  was  in  the  estimation  of 
the  Pharisees  of  those  days  a  shameful  misdeed. 
To  see  his  own  favourite  nephew,  in  whom  his  hope 
had  for  years  recognised  his  eventual  successor,  in  the 
ranks  of  the  apostates  who  had  severed  themselves 
from  the  mother  Church,  would  have  been  for  the 
aged  Archbishop  the  bitterest  ingredient  in  his  cup 
of  sorrow.  From  him  indeed  proceeded  the.  urgent 
direction  to  quit  the  notorious  city  of  Basle  without 
delay  ;  from  Italy  the  Polish  primate  had  not  yet 
received  tidings  that  there  too  Reformational 
movements  had  manifested  themselves.  On  that 
account  the  journey  was  to  be  made  not  by  way  of 
Augsburg,  Leipsic,  and  even  Wittenberg,  but  rather 
by  the  indirect  route  by  way  of  the  Alps  and  Italy, 
and  that  slowly,  with  a  prolonged  stay  in  Venice,  in 
order  to  get  any  questionable  tendencies  expelled 
by  the  vicinity  of  Rome. 

Our  Laski,  when  at  length  he  had  returned  home, 
could  frankly  and  without  reserve  appear  in  his 
uncle's  presence.  He  had  not  married  a  wife 
abroad,  as  his  detractors  would  fain  have  had  it 
believed  with  regard  to  him  ;  and  otherwise  than  in 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      147 

conjugal  union,  he,  the  man  of  pure  and  rigid  morals, 
had  no  desire  for  any  intimacy  with  woman.  But 
with  regard  to  the  other  accusation  also,  he  felt 
himself  guiltless.  Merle  (fAubigne  supposes  that  in 
the  oath  of  purgation  we  must  assume  a  fall,  on  the 
part  of  the  young  man,  from  the  height  to  which  he 
had  attained  in  the  intercourse  with  the  friends  at 
Basle.*  To  so  harsh  a  verdict  we  cannot  by  any 
means  subscribe.  Our  Laski,  at  the  time  of  his 
return  to  his  own  country,  differed  in  no  degree  as 
yet  in  his  view  of  the  Reformation  from  that  of  his 
master,  Erasmus.  With  him,  he  was  fully  convinced 
of  the  necessity  for  a  reformation  of  the  Church  in 
its  head  and  its  members  ;  on  his  departure  from 
home  he  had  carried  with  him  this  conviction,  and 
in  the  many  travels  by  which  he  was  brought  into 
contact  with  persons  of  the  highest  ecclesiastical 
rank,  he  had  been  favoured  with  ample  opportunity 
for  witnessing  the  deep  and  painful  wounds  from 
which  the  Church  was  suffering.  With  Erasmus,  too, 
he  was  convinced  that  the  greatest  injuries  had  been 
inflicted  upon  it  by  the  servants  of  the  Church 
itself,  and  that  the  most  passionate  complaint  with 
regard  to  them  and  their  unspiritual  life  was  only  too 
fully  justified.  But,  in  common  with  his  teacher,  he 
still  cherished  the  hope  that  this  necessary  reforma- 
tion of  the  Church  could  be  accomplished  without 
that  breach  which,  to  his  deepest  regret,  he  saw 
widening  from  day  to  day.  With  the  whole  intensity 

*  Merle  d'Aubigne,  Reformation  en  Europe,  vii.  572  : 
"  Toutefois  ce  serment  prete  par  De  Lasco  fut  ainsi  que  sa 
mondanite  une  veritable  chute  !  "  It  would  have  been  equally 
difficult  for  the  revered  historian  of  the  Reformation  to  have 
given  the  proof  for  his  second  assertion — that  of  A  Lasco's 
worldly-mindedness. 


148  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

and  fidelity  of  his  heart,  Laski  clung  to  his  mother 
Church,  outside  of  which  he  could  not  conceive  of 
any  salvation.  For  him,  the  Pole,  who  had  grown 
up  to  manhood  in  the  ecclesiastical  and  political 
views  of  his  uncle  and  the  court,  as  of  the  whole 
clergy  of  his  native  land,  all  rupture  with  the  Church 
was  a  rupture  with  the  fatherland  ;  neither  of  these 
would  his  heart,  glowing  with  affection  for  Church 
and  fatherland,  at  that  time  have  been  able  to 
endure.  That  Christ  may  demand  of  His  disciple 
even  a  sacrifice  like  this  was  a  thought  for  the 
inspiring  of  which  the  evangelic  spirit  which  animated 
the  Reformers  had  not  up  to  this  time  come  personally 
near  to  him. 

At  first  he  lived  in  foreign  lands  as  a  Pole,  for 
whom  the  question  which  impelled  the  solitary  man 
in  his  relations  at  home  ever  farther  and  farther 
upon  the  way  that  leads  to  separation  was  as  yet 
only  something  remote.  The  contact  with  Zwingli 
may  have  been  only  a  very  fleeting  one,  lasting 
enough  indeed  to  press  the  goad  into  his  soul 
which  impels  him  henceforth  into  the  depths  of  the 
Gospel,  decisive  enough  to  lead  him  after  decades  of 
years  still  with  grateful  heart  to  describe  Zwingli  as 
the  man  of  God  who,  with  powerful  hand,  had  given 
him  the  first  impulse  to  that  movement  which  can 
only  find  its  issue  in  the  Evangelical  Church,  but 
yet  not  so  long  and  constraining  as  to  call  forth 
from  his  conscience  at  once  the  fateful  sacrifice  of 
decision.  That  important  passage,  in  which  Laski 
after  thirty  years  speaks  of  his  meeting  with  Zwingli, 
has  been  turned  to  account,  in  the  absence  of  more 
detailed  notices  as  to  the  course  of  his  development, 
generally  at  the  expense  of  psychological  truth. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      149 

Oecolampadius  and  Pcllican  themselves  had   not  yet, 
at  the  time  of  his  stay  in  Basle,  taken  the  final  step 
which   must   lead    to   an    open  rupture.     The  hero- 
form  of  the  German   Reformer  had  unhappily  been 
met  with  by  our  Pole  only  in  the  refraction  in  which 
this  form  appeared  in  the  vicinity  of  Erasmus.      It 
was  no   longer  the  clear,  great   light  which   at  the 
first    blaze    of   the    Reformation    the    distinguished 
Humanist  likewise  had  seen  and  recognised  ;  at  that 
time  the  mist  had  already   risen    which    more    and 
more  rendered   it  impossible  for  Erasmus  to  recog- 
nise  and   appreciate,   behind   the   dim,  shifting   out- 
lines, the  true  features  of  the  leader  of  the  Reforma- 
tion.     The  fatal  and   incurable  rupture  between  the 
leader   of  the   Reformation    and   the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  studies  of  humanity  had  already  taken 
place  at  the  time  of  the  companionship  with  Erasmus, 
The   passionate,   irritated    language   of  the   Witten- 
berger  at   the    same  time  wounded  the  guest,  who, 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  master  so  harshly  assailed, 
chivalrously   espoused   his   side,    and    thereby    aug- 
mented for  himself  the  trial  of  piercing  through  the 
repulsive  exterior  to  the  golden  heart  of  the  Reformer. 
Repelled  by  the  form,  his  access  to  the  contents  was 
made    less    easy.     That    which    Erasmus     at     first 
rejoined,  in   the  fine  tone   of   superiority  which  he 
knew  how  to  wield  with  such  ease  and  dexterity,  to 
the  attacks  of  Luther,  must  appear  fully  convincing 
to  a  mind  which,  under  the  spell  of  a  so-called  sound 
common  sense,  had   not  yet  cast   a  glance  into  the 
fearful  depths  of  sin,  the  utter  corruption  of  human 
nature,    which  not  yet,  standing  beside  this  abyss, 
had  cried  only  for  grace,  as  a  hart  crieth  after  the 
water-brooks  ;  must  commend  itself  to  a  mind  which 


i5o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

had  not  yet  trodden  the  path  of  an  Augustine  and 
a  Paul  to  the  point  of  recognising  that  we  are  saved 
by  grace  alone  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.  This  was  at  that  time  still  to  our  Laski  a 
mystery  sealed  with  seven  seals  ;  and  the  harsh, 
unsparing  language  of  the  Reformer  did  not  call 
forth  in  the  refined  Pole  the  desire  to  unseal  this 
mystery.  God  was  leading  him  in  those  days  by 
another  path,  but  to  the  same  goal. 

A  further  element  of  difficulty  came  also  into 
operation.  Our  friend  had,  moreover,  opportunity  in 
Basle  of  seeing  the  questionable  compact  made  be- 
tween the  movement  of  the  Reformation  and  the 
revolutionary  insurrection  and  agitation  in  the  peasant 
class  ;  and  who  would  guarantee  for  him  that  the 
current  arising  in  the  religious  domain  would  not 
issue  and  run  out  in  a  political,  demagogic  domain  ? 
They  were  certainly  very  ominous  notes  which,  as 
early  as  I  524  and  1525,  were  raised  by  the  peasants 
of  Upper  Swabia  in  their  twelve  articles.  There,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Rhine,  in  the  neighbouring 
Waldshut,  Hubmaier  and  Reiiblin  were  engaged  in 
agitating  ;  in  Klettgau  Mtinzer  roused  the  peasantry 
in  the  autumn  of  1524,  after,  expelled  from  Miihl- 
hausen,  he  had  retreated  by  way  of  Nuremberg 
and  Basle.  The  men  who  headed  the  excited 
crowds  had  till  but  recently  been  on  friendly  terms 
with  the  Reformers  in  Germany  and  Switzerland. 
Despite  the  notorious  rupture  with  them,  what  an 
easy  and  convenient  mode  of  reproach  it  was  for  the 
enemies  of  the  Reformation  to  characterise  these 
insurrections,  which  awakened  so  much  apprehension, 
as  the  legitimate  fruits  of  the  Reformation  !  If  one 
did  not  join  in  such  reproach,  this  was  in  itself  a 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      151 

result  of  having  been  brought  under  the  power  of 
the  Gospel.  For  Laski,  however,  such  an  opinion 
had  about  it  something  manifestly  just  ;  and  he 
had  moved  principally  in  those  quarters  in  which  he 
would  be  confirmed  in  this  his  conclusion. 

With  the  impressions  thus  acquired,  our  friend 
had  returned  to  his  native  land  and  entered  on  the 
ministry  of  his  church.  He  was  soon  indeed  able  to 
convince  his  uncle  that  the  reports  spread  abroad  by 
his  rivals  and  detractors,  concerning  his  leaning  to- 
wards the  Reformation,  were  false.  This,  however, 
did  not  suffice  for  the  Archbishop.  That  which  the 
opponents  had  pretty  loudly  whispered  must  be 
publicly  refuted  ;  and  so  he  required  of  his  nephew, 
that  he  should  publicly  confirm  that  which  he  had 
privately  acknowledged  to  him,  and  should  do  so  by 
an  oath  of  purgation  in  presence  of  one  of  his  most 
decided  opponents,  the  Bishop  of  Cracow.  The 
document  of  this  oath,  in  the  handwriting  of  Laski, 
is  still  preserved  in  the  Privy  Record  Office  at 
Konigsberg.*  He  protests  in  this  solemn  declara- 
tion that  he  has  read,  with  the  papal  licence  (ex 
indulto  Apostolicd),  many  writings  even  of  those  who 
have  separated  themselves  from  the  Romish  Church  ; 
but  that  he  has  wittingly  and  willingly  adopted  no 
opinion,  no  article  of  faith  which  is  in  contradiction 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  If 
he  has  fallen  through  inadvertence,  if  he  has  be- 
come involved  in  an  error,  which  truly  may  also 
happen  to  the  most  learned  and  holiest  of  men,  he 
disavows  this  publicly  and  emphatically,  and  ac- 
knowledges of  his  own  free  will  that  he  feels  no 

*  Reproduced  in  full  by  Kuyper,  ii.  547. 


i52  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

desire  to  follow  any  sects  or  doctrines  which  are 
opposed  to  the  unity  of  the  Romish  Church  and 
its  regulations,  and  that  he  wishes  only  firmly  to 
retain  that  which  has  been  accepted  and  approved 
by  the  Romish  Church.  In  like  manner,  he  vows 
to  the  Holy  See,  his  superiors  and  bishops,  a  life- 
long obedience  in  all  things  permitted  and  honour- 
able. "  That  swear  I  ;  so  help  me  God  and  the 
holy  Gospels  of  God." 

Our  Laski  was  in  those  days  in  sacred  earnest 
with  regard  to  this  oath,  which  perfectly  reflects 
the  position  in  relation  to  his  Church  still  occupied 
by  him.  Anything  for  him  rather  than  a  separa- 
tion from  the  one  holy,  Apostolic  mother  Church. 
Outside  of  it  there  is  no  other.  It  stands  indeed 
in  need  of  reformation  ;  but,  as  the  bearer  of  the 
truth,  it  carries  in  itself  the  power  of  healing,  and 
will  of  its  own  power  overcome  and  heal  the  ills  which 
his  spiritual  eye  has  likewise  recognised.  Verily  it 
was  not  fear  of  being  deprived  of  his  benefices,  and 
having  to  wander  forth  upon  a  painful  martyrdom, 
that  forced  these  words  upon  reluctant  lips  ;  and 
just  as  little  was  it  respect  and  filial  affection  for  the 
uncle  ;  it  was  his  full  conviction,  which  only  that 
man  would  have  a  right  to  designate  as  a  declension, 
yea  as  a  fall,  who  was  in  a  position  to  afford  the 
indisputable  proof  that  he  had  already,  inwardly 
liberated  from  the  Romish  Church,  attained  to  the 
height  of  evangelic  truth.  Such  proof  has  not  yet 
been  furnished  ;  nor  will  it  be  in  the  future,  even 
though  more  abundant  sources  should  be  opened  to 
our  research. 

After  all  the  malignant  calumnies  had  been  thus 
conspicuously  reduced  to  silence,  our  Laski  applied 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      153 

himself  with  the  liveliest  zeal  to  the  duties  of  his 
vocation.  Cracow  indeed  would  have  been  capable 
of  enchaining  the  young  ecclesiastical  prince  if  his 
mind  had  been  set  upon  worldly  entertainment  and 
enjoyment.  Here,  at  the  court,  festival  was  suc- 
ceeding festival.  Bona,  the  new  queen,  an  Italian 
princess,  passionately  fond  of  pleasure,  but  also 
dejighting  in  intrigues  and  machinations,  dearly 
loved  a  brilliant  court.  Then  came  the  lively,  ex- 
cited life  at  the  capital,  produced  by  the  con- 
stant apprehension  of  some  severe  and  disastrous 
reverse  in  arms.  On  the  north  the  Prussians  as- 
sumed a  threatening  attitude,  unwilling  to  bear  the 
yoke  of  the  Poles  ;  on  the  east  the  Russians  were 
lying  in  wait  ;  on  the  south  the  victorious  S oilman 
was  ominously  lifting  his  head.  Where  his  wild 
hordes  trod  all  was  over  for  decades  of  years  with 
the  prosperity  of  the  people  ;  and  Poland's  frontier 
was  contiguous  along  a  wide  tract  with  the  ill-defined 
boundaries  of  the  threatening  Turkish  neighbour. 
Courtly  festivals  and  wild  din  of  arms  were  not, 
however,  to  the  taste  of  the  pupil  of  Erasmus. 
With  a  sigh,  he  writes  to  Basle,  "  Here  only  battles, 
dreadful  battles,  nothing  else."*  He  flees  from  the 
royal  court  and  plunges  into  the  administration  of 
his  wide  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction. t  But  violently, 
like  a  startled  roe,  is  he  ever  afresh  drawn  away,  and 
must  keep  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  turbulent  course 
of  political  events  ;  members  of  his  house  have  laid 
hold  of  the  spokes  of  the  rolling  wheel ;  fraternal 

*  "Hie  bella,  horrida  bella,  praeterea  nihil." 

t   He  mentions  to  Amerbach  that  he  would  gladly  resign 

for  a  journey  to  Basle  that  administration,  "  quam  in  primo 

hue  reditu  meo,  aulam  fugiens,  susceperam." 


IS4  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

love  does  not  suffer  him  to  close  his  eyes  to  that 
which  may  draw  the  family  itself  into  a  common 
distress.* 

2.    LASKI'S   ACTIVITY   IN   THE   ECCLESIASTICAL 
DOMAIN. 

Against  his  will  our  Laski  had  been  drawn  even 
into  the  tumult  of  battles  and  all  the  disquiet  of 
wildly  surging  party  conflicts.  He  may  well  often 
have  sighed  at  the  thought  of  being  thus  for  years 
together  forced  away  from  the  calmer  island  of 
retired  studies  after  which  he  longed.  But  the 
political  sea,  rising  in  mighty  waves,  was  yet  not 
able  to  draw  down  the  resolute  swimmer  into  its 
depths.  We  see  him  appear  above  the  surface  ever 

*  In  order  to  follow  the  thread  of  the  narrative,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  understand  the  part  played  by  the  Laskis  between  the 
years  1526  and  1535.  Upon  the  death  of  the  young  and  chi- 
valrous Lewis  of  Hungary,  nephew  to  the  King  of  Poland,  in 
conflict  with  the  hordes  of  Soliman  (2gth  August,  1526),  the 
throne  was  claimed  by  John  Zapolya,  Vayvode  of  Transylvania, 
Sigismund's  brother-in-law,  and  by  Ferdinand  of  Austria, 
brother  of  the  Emperor.  The  former  was  favoured  by  Francis  I., 
and  the  latter  by  Charles  V.  The  Polish  nobility  sympathised 
undisguisedly  with  the  cause  of  Zapolya.  Sigismund  tried  to 
bring  about  an  agreement  between  the  claimants.  Jerome 
Laski  threw  himself  unreservedly  on  the  side  of  Zapolya,  to 
whose  service  he  sacrificed  the  best  days  of  his  life.  After 
visiting  Paris,  London,  Venice,  in  his  interest,  he  repaired  to 
Constantinople  towards  the  end  of  1527,  where  he  passed  some 
months  in  securing  the  support  of  Soliman.  Eventually,  at 
Ratisbon,  he  made  good  the  claim  of  Zapolya  to  the  throne. 
He  was  rewarded  with  the  lands  of  Kesmark,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Carpathians,  while  the  bishopric  of  Vesprim  was  bestowed 
upon  his  brother  John.  In  1533  the  governor  of  Transylvania 
was  murdered  at  the  instigation  of  the  treacherous  Gritti,  son 
of  the  Doge  of  Venice,  who  aimed  at  supplanting  Zapolya  by 
the  aid  of  Soliman.  Gritti  paid  the  penalty  of  his  life. 
Zapolya,  however,  suspected  Jerome  of  complicity,  and  ac- 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      155 

and  anon,  straining  every  nerve  to  cast  the  anchor  of 
his  life's  ship  in  that  firm  ground  in  which  God,  by 
the  peculiar  leading  of  His  providence,  would  hold 
him  fast.  We  must  again  retrace  our  steps  for  a  few 
years,  in  order  to  accompany  him  upon  the  path  of 
his  spiritual  development,  so  far  as  only  very  isolated 
traces  enable  us  thus  to  accompany  him. 

The  political  events,  as  also  the  troubles  of  his 
native  land,  specially  as  occasioned  by  the  continued 
far-reaching  disorders  and  vicissitudes  of  war  in  the 
neighbouring  States,  would  in  themselves  suffice  to 
force  somewhat  into  the  background  the  seriously 
pressing  religious  questions;*  but  for  Poland,  as  other 
lands,  these  threatened  to  assume  too  much  of  a 
burning  character  to  admit  either  of  being  passed 
over  in  silence  or  forcibly  suppressed.  While,  in 
Germany  especially,  they  were  standing  in  the  very 
forefront  of  the  whole  movement  of  the  age,  their 
giant  shadows  also  fell  threateningly  upon  Poland, 
which  had  the  reputation  of  being  such  a  stronghold 

cordingly  imprisoned  him  at  Ofen.  The  tidings  reached 
Johannes  only  in  1534.  He  instantly  made  the  most  heroic 
efforts  for  the  liberation  of  his  beloved  brother,  and  was  at 
length  successful.  Zapolya,  who  owed  his  throne  to  Jerome, 
at  length  yielded  to  the  expostulations  raised  on  every  side, 
and  released  his  ambassador  from  the  shameful  captivity. 
After  retiring  for  a  time  to  his  estates  at  Kesmark,  Jerome 
proffered  his  services  to  Ferdinand,  by  whom  they  were 
eagerly  accepted.  He  had  laboured  from  the  year  1530  for  the 
establishment  of  peace  between  the  rival  candidates,  and  this 
end  he  finally  attained  in  1535.  The  bearing  of  the  two 
claimants  towards  the  Reformation  is  fully  examined  by 
Dalton.  For  the  evidence  on  this  point,  and  for  a  list  of 
authorities,  the  historian  must  be  referred  to  the  original 
work. 

*  The  Bishop  of  Breslau,  too,  complains  in  a  letter  to  the 
Pope  of  the  year  1531  (Theiner,  Vetera  Monumenta,  ii.  472) 
that,  owing  to  the  Turkish  war,  the  King  has  not  the  time  for 
applying  a  remedy  to  the  ecclesiastical  disorders. 


156  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  Catholicism.  We  have  already  observed  at  an 
earlier  stage  how  in  the  old  edifice  there  began  to  be 
heard  strange  creakings.  In  the  years  which  had 
now  expired  no  thought  had  been  given  to  the 
improvement  of  the  defective  places  ;  it  was  thought 
that  enough  had  been  done  when  the  attempt  had 
been  made  to  suppress  every  murmur.  The  sterner 
measures,  however,  to  which  recourse  was  had,  were 
no  longer  successful  against  the  spirit  of  the  Refor- 
mation violently  bursting  forth.  Even  the  severest 
menaces  proved  no  more  than  blows  dealt  upon  the 
water. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  how  the  evangelic 
movement  first  came  to  a  head  in  Dantsic,  then  the 
most  important  seaport  town  of  Poland.  Whilst 
our  friend  was  pursuing  his  studies  abroad,  the 
Archbishop  of  Gnesen  had  himself  repaired  to  the 
town,  then  in  the  fervour  of  excitement,  though 
without  any  substantial  result  from  his  visit.  The 
Primate  was  ill-adapted  for  the  quelling  of  such  a 
fermentation,  for  the  very  reason  that  he  was  unac- 
quainted with  its  nature.  That  is  made  fully  mani- 
fest from  a  document  in  which  he  expounds  his 
opinion  with  regard  to  the  Dantsic  differences.*  On 
the  one  side  stands  the  ecclesiastical  prince,  well 
versed  in  jurisprudence,  who  sees  a  Church  with  its 
doctrine  unassailed  from  Apostolic  times ;  on  the 
other  side  he  sees  opinions  of  people  addicted  to 
innovation  (iieoterici),  who  like  to  follow  their  own 
judgment  in  particular  rites  and  ecclesiastical  regula- 
tions. In  connection  with  such  a  division,  the  man 
who  has  grown  grey  in  the  observances  of  his  Church 

*  Tomiciana,  vii.  387. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      157 

cannot   for   a  moment  doubt  on   which  side  stands 
right  and  truth. 

Equally  little  result  had  the  mission   of  the  four 
royal  counsellors,  among  whom  was  numbered  Jerome 
Laski    (1525).       Even    the    most    skilful  statecraft 
shows    itself    powerless    in    the    solution     of    ques- 
tions which  have  arisen   out  of  true  faith,  and   are 
advanced  by  a  conscience  established  in  the  peace  of 
the  Gospel.      These  are  no  other  than  voices  out  of 
a   kingdom  which    is   not   of  this    world,   and   their 
abiding  guardian  is  that  holy  form  which  has  over- 
come the  world.      By  way  of  rejoinder  to  the  decision 
of  these  counsellors,  the  Protestants  of  Dantsic  sent, 
it  is  true,  a  long  detailed  defence  of  their  doctrines 
to  the  King.     Krzycki,  of  whose  incisive  and  facile 
pen  the  bishops  had  gladly  availed  themselves  in  the 
difficult  questions  of  the  faith  ever  since  he  had  won 
his  spurs  by  his  defamatory  writing  against   Luther, 
was  appointed  to  compose  the  written   reply  which 
was   then   delivered   to   the    Protestant    deputies    of 
Dantsic   by  the    Bishop  of  Cracow.      Both   writings 
are  to  be  prized  as  voices  from   the  first  days  of  the 
Reformation,  and  seem  from  their  nature  to  demand  a 
comparison.*  In  the  one  writing  breathes  the  language 
of  conscience,    which   rises    against   gross  distortion 
of  Divine  truth,  against  abuses  crying  to  Heaven  in 
the  Church  and  among  its  ministers,  the  clear,  firm, 
fearless  word  of  a  disciple  who  has  attained  to  the 
all-surpassing  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and,  from 
the  height  of  this  free  watch-tower,  is  ready  to  give 
up  even    the  Church,   which   he   sees    corrupted   in 
worldly  ways,  to   separate   from   it    in   order  to   be 

*  Tomiciana,  vii.  358,  400. 


i58  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

henceforth  bound  to  the  Saviour  alone.  We  gather 
from  the  tone  of  the  discourse  that  these  freed  ones 
have  travelled  by  the  bitter  way  of  deep  knowledge 
of  sin  to  the  abyss  of  utter  despairing  of  their  own 
righteousness,  but  that  at  this  very  abyss  they  have 
been  saved  of  grace  alone.  The  episcopal  answer, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  couched  in  a  tone  of  superiority, 
frigid,  taking  its  stand  upon  the  legal  ground  of  the 
Church  as  the  only  body  of  Christ,  and,  from  the 
aristocratic  height  of  this  secularised  standpoint,  dis- 
missing in  a  few  words  the  complaints  and  grievances 
of  this  little,  disobedient  people.  No  trace  of  any 
pity  for  their  troubles,  no  intelligence  for  the  cry  of 
anguish  wrung  from  a  conscience  which  is  concerned 
about  its  salvation,  as  though  they  were  no  spiritual 
fathers,  only  police-officers  of  the  man  there  in  Rome. 
But  the  days  for  such  decrees,  as  also  for  finding 
obedience  and  subjection  among  those  who  had 
tasted  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God,  the  "  good 
old  days,"  were  irrevocably  past,  even  for  the  priests 
and  bishops  of  Poland. 

About  the  time  of  these  negotiations  our  Laski 
returned  home.  Even  during  his  absence  he  had, 
through  the  interest  of  his  uncle,  been  appointed 
administrator  in  Gnesen.  He  seems  to  have  found 
this  new  dignity  awaiting  him  as  a  sort  of  welcome 
on  his  return  to  Posen  ;  at  any  rate,  he  adds  the 
title  for  the  first  time,  in  his  joy  at  the  attainment 
of  this  office,  to  a  signature  in  a  letter  from  this 
place.  It  would  appear  to  us  that  the  new  office 
corresponded  to  his  wishes ;  it  afforded  him  the 
desired  opportunity  of  escaping  the  life  and  move- 
ment at  the  noisy  and  bustling  court,  and  in  greater 
retirement  living  for  his  vocation.  With  all 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      159 

earnestness  he  joined  in  the  work  of  ecclesiastical 
life.       We    have    unhappily    no    evidence    in    what 
sense  he  participated  in   the  measures  now  deemed 
urgent    against    the    supposed     seditious    ones,     or 
whether  he  approved   of  all    the   measures  adopted 
by  his   Church.     With  regard  to  particular  pheno- 
mena, of  which  he  received  tidings,  he  could  certainly 
point  to  similar   incidents    in   Switzerland    and    the 
evil  consequences  which  had  already  attended  them. 
The    King    still    wavered    for    a    short    time    as 
regards  having  recourse    to  more  serious  measures 
after  the  episcopal  letter  against  the  Dantsic  insur- 
gents had  exploded  ineffectually.     A  really  devout 
mind  may  certainly  have  paralysed  for  him  the  arm 
that  would    hastily   draw  the   sword    in   matters  of 
faith.       And     then     there     was    the     unfavourable 
character    of   the    time — everywhere    the    swelling 
waves  of  political  disorder  ;  threatening  foes  along 
almost  the  whole  length  of  his  frontiers,  specially 
in  the  east  and  south  ;  and  then  the  serious  com- 
plications with  the  German  Grand  Master  not  yet 
brought    to    a    peaceful    solution.      Everybody    felt 
that  a  storm,  pregnant  with  decisive  consequences, 
was,  as  it  were,  in  the  air  in  that  tempest-charged 
age  ;   and  men   sought   as  far  as  possible  to  keep 
their   hands  free,  that  at  the  moment   of  the  dis- 
charge they  might  be  able  to  appear  with  undivided 
strength  on  the  field  of  conflict.      Sigismund  knew 
that  in  connection  with  this  expected  course  of  war- 
like events  his  kingdom  would  be  threatened  in   the 
first  line  ;  and  political  caution  must  suggest  to  him 
not   on  the   eve   of  the  crisis,   out   of  sheer  light- 
heartedness,  too  greatly   to    irritate   the   people   of 
Dantsic,  and  to  play  with  that  which  constituted  his 


:6o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

most  important  key  to  the  sea  and  the  outlet  for 
his  commerce.  And  yet  he  was  not  permitted  to 
defer  proceeding  with  decision,  when  those  about 
him  had  succeeded  in  persuading  him  that  the 
prime  source  of  the  whole  rebellious  movement 
was  not  of  a  religious  but  of  a  revolutionary 
nature,  the  perilous  rising  of  the  people  against  the 
hereditary  power  of  the  nobles  and  kings.  With 
the  assailing  of  the  Church,  the  two  other  main 
buttresses  of  the  State  were  threatened. 

Almost  everywhere,  with  the  proclamation  of  the 
freedom  of  the  Gospel,  there  had  penetrated  into  the 
lower  ranks  of  the  people  the  consciousness,  now  so 
oppressive,  of  their  position  of  bondage  and  depriva- 
tion of  civil  rights  under  their  lords  and  mighty  ones. 
Here  and  there,  goaded  on  by  deceivers  or  deceived, 
the  unhappy  masses  had  already  attempted  by 
violence  to  throw  off  the  yoke,  now  that  they  had 
become  conscious  of  its  full  weight,  so  intolerable  for 
them.  The  peasants,  once  aroused,  had  broken  out 
in  ungoverned  fury,  with  almost  simultaneous  action, 
in  the  most  varied  and  remote  localities  ;  burning 
and  destroying  on  their  way,  they  had  unfurled  the 
standard  of  revolt  and  gone  forth  against  the 
castles  and  strongholds  of  their  tyrants,  like  a  fierce, 
blood-red,  avenging  host,  intent  on  exacting  repara- 
tion for  centuries  of  injustice  ;  and  had  at  the  same 
time  taken  upon  themselves  to  discharge  the 
functions  alike  of  accuser  and  judge  and  execu- 
tioner. That  which  had  been  done  by  the  Swabian 
peasants  was  attempted  likewise  by  their  East 
Prussian  companions  in  suffering,  not  in  imitation 
of  that  which  was  done  in  South  Germany  ;  at  least, 
the  proof  for  such  imitation  has  not  been  given. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      161 

Like  conditions  have  only  forced  open  the  valve, 
and  the  steam  everywhere  plenteously  accumulated 
has  escaped  from  its  narrow  enclosure  with  a  shrill 
hissing.  What  then  if  the  harsh  note  should 
penetrate  deep  into  the  forests  or  the  desolate 
marshy  plains  of  Poland,  where  the  unspeakably 
wretched  kmetons  dragged  out  their  slavish  exist- 
ence, if,  as  was  not  to  be  doubted,  the  note  should 
there  too  find  an  intelligent  response  ?  The 
inflammable  material  was  indeed  abundantly  piled 
up.  The  nobles,  the  clergy,  instinctively  felt  the 
danger,  and  so  it  became  easy  to  persuade  the  King 
that  every  act  of  concession  on  the  ecclesiastical  side 
would  only  afford  support  to  the  threatened  insur- 
rection of  the  lower  classes  against  all  authority. 
This  representation,  as  also  the  profiting  by  its  use, 
was  charged  with  fatal  effects  for  the  Romish 
Church.  It  is  to  be  enumerated  among  the  most 
prominent  marks  of  the  Divine  truth  of  the  Refor- 
mation that,  with  the  same  sacred  earnestness  with 
which  it  dissociated  itself  from  the  humanistic 
studies  which,  in  proud  seclusion,  took  no  care  for 
the  people,  it  now  refused  to  make  common  cause 
with  the  tumultuous  multitudes,  but  following  the 
Gospel  alone,  gave  unto  God  that  which  is  God's, 
and  to  Caesar  that  which  is  Caesar's.  But  the 
Romish  Church  in  Poland  too  had  lulled  itself  to 
sleep,  in  the  fond  supposition  that  only  one  and  the 
same  revolutionary  movement  was  to  be  perceived 
in  the  Reformation  and  in  the  risings  of  the 
peasants,  and  composing  itself  under  this  delusion, 
had  let  pass  unused  the  time  of  its  visitation  for 
healing  the  inner  defects. 

The  clergy  in  Poland  urged  upon  the  King,  con- 

1 1 


162  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

vinced  of  the  threatening  danger,  the  necessity  for 
instantly  taking  severe  measures.  No  time  was 
now  to  be  lost.  That  which  was  manifesting  itself 
in  Dantsic  was  repeated,  though  in  a  milder  form,  in 
Thorn,  in  Elbing,  in  Braunsberg,  in  Posen,  in  so 
many  other  places  then  under  Polish  sway.  Yea, 
even  in  Cracow,  and  farther  in  the  interior  of  the 
land,  there  were  witnessed  strange  flashes  of  light- 
ning. At  the  National  Diet  held  in  Petrikow,  only 
at  the  close  of  which  our  Laski  returned  home,  the 
religious  disturbances  formed  a  main  subject  of 
excited  debate.  In  the  very  message  to  the  pro- 
vincial diets,  in  which  the  King  enumerates  the  sub- 
jects on  which  counsel  is  to  be  taken  by  way  of 
preparation  for  the  National  Diet,  it  was  stated  that 
the  King  had  indeed  made  peace  with  the  Duke  of 
Prussia,  but  that  the  whole  land  was  still  confused 
and  endangered  by  the  presence  of  the  Lutheran 
sect.  Already  the  peasants  too,  after  the  example  of 
the  peasants  in  Germany,  and  upon  the  pretext  of 
evangelical  freedom,  had  taken  up  arms  against 
their  masters,  had  slain  many  of  them,  and  reduced 
their  dwellings  to  ashes.  Only  swift  measures  of 
force,  we  are  told,  were  now  in  a  position  to  extirpate 
this  widely  diffused  pestilence.*  The  National  Diet 
in  alarm  gave  its  sanction  to  such  measures.  The 
King  himself,  at  the  head  of  a  great  retinue,  marched 
against  Dantsic.  Thrown  upon  its  own  resources 
alone,  the  town  ventured  upon  no  resistance ; 
helpless,  it  was  obliged  to  submit  to  all  the  con- 
ditions imposed,  t  The  Reformational  movement 

*  Tomiciana,  viii.  g. 

t  Hartknock,  Preussische  Kirchenhistorie  (Leipsic,  1686), 
F-  067  ;  and,  yet  more  fully,  Tomiciana,  viii.  40. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      163 

was  accordingly  delayed  for  a  few  years  ;  suppressed, 
as  the  hastily  tranquillised  Poles  believed,  it  was  not 
by  any  means. 

The  spirit  which  had  animated  the  last  National 
Diet  at  Petrikow  was  naturally  transplanted  to  the 
ecclesiastical  assembly  which  the  Archbishop  of 
Gnesen  summoned  for  the  following  year  at  Leczyc 
(1527),  and  in  which  our  Laski  took  part.  The 
bishoprics  of  Breslau  and  Cujavia  were  specially 
signalised  as  infected  with  the  heretical  plague.  It 
was  resolved  to  proceed  vigorously  against  the 
recognised  heretics,  as  also  against  those  only  sus- 
pected of  heresy,  and  that  upon  the  basis  of  the 
severe  measures  adopted  in  the  previous  assemblies, 
to  set  aside  all  fear  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  same, 
to  have  only  God,  the  faith,  and  the  holy  religion 
before  one's  eyes,  and  in  connection  therewith  to 
spare  neither  money  nor  toil.*  Here,  for  the  first 
time,  mention  is  made  of  an  attempt  not  merely  to 
suppress  the  heresy  with  strong  hand,  but  also  to 
instruct  the  people.  May  we  perhaps  trace  this  turn 
of  affairs  to  the  influence  of  our  dean,  who  had  oppor- 
tunity enough  for  recognising  that  this  spirit  could 
no  longer  be  quelled  by  violent  measures  alone  ? 
The  assembly  resolved,  namely  :  "  Since  even  the 
most  searching  investigation  and  chastisement  would 
avail  but  little  to  root  out  this  sect,  unless  the 
genuine  pasture  of  the  Word  of  God  is  applied  and 
taught  by  true  Catholic  men,  who  stand  high  on 
account  of  their  own  works  and  example,  and  who, 
by  their  sound  doctrine,  can  bring  men  to  reject  the 

*  Friese,  Kirchengesch.  des  Konigreichs  Polen  (Breslau, 

1786),  pp.  2,  4;. 


1 64  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


evil  and  to  choose  the  good,  it  is  ordained  that 
the  archbishops  and  bishops,  particularly  those  of 
Breslau*  and  Cujavia,  shall  maintain  at  their  courts, 
metropolitan,  cathedral,  and  collegiate  churches,  and 
in  particular  those  where  the  Lutheran  sect  appears 
still  to  be  spreading,  learned  men,  theologians  and 
preachers  of  the  word  of  God,  who  shall  be  able  to 
make  known  and  expound  to  the  orthodox  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  the  Holy  Scripture,  by  thorough 
instruction  and  a  good  discourse." 

We  have  no  means  of  knowing  to  what  extent 
the  several  bishops  followed  this  wise  counsel  in 
their  jurisdictions  ;  sundry  indications  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  matters  did  not  go  beyond  good 
resolutions.  But  our  Laski  rested  not.  Repeatedly 
did  he  urge  upon  the  leader  of  the  Humanists  to 
give  the  King  of  Poland  hints  and  advice ;  at 
length  the  cautious  man  gave  way.  His  letter  is 
composed  with  wondrous  skill,  brilliant,  replenished 
with  reminiscences  of  the  fair  vanished  world  which 
had  been  called  forth  to  new  life  by  the  Humanists, 
graceful,  and  stamped  with  dignity,  and,  moreover, 
rendering  a  delicate  homage  to  the  powerful  King, 


*  The  Bishop  of  Breslau  had  two  years  before  made  his 
complaint  to  the  papal  see  regarding  the  inroads  of  heresy. 
"  From  the  neighbouring  Meissen,  whence  the  monster  in 
Wittenberg  has  found  an  outlet ' ' — so  he  complained  to  his 
chief  shepherd — "  this  accursed  sect  has  invaded  my  ecclesi- 
astical province  also,  and  that  which  there  appears  in  books 
is  with  me  realised  in  the  life  "  (compare  Theiner,  ii.  431). 
Here,  too,  again  and  again  only  the  hue  and  cry  over  the 
change  of  some  ecclesiastical  customs,  neglect  of  the  tithes, 
the  abridgment  of  ecclesiastical  rights,  but  no  entering  into 
the  deeper-lying  causes — because  no  comprehension  of  them — 
of  which  the  disorders  now  arising  are  nothing  more  than  the 
necessary  consequences. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      165 

a  fragrant  blossom  of  the  time  of  the  Renaissance, 
but  with  all  its  well-chosen  words  powerless  to  reach 
and  lay  bare  the  ills,  and  to  contribute  to  their 
healing.*  Erasmus,  with  all  his  gifts,  was  not  the 
man  for  this  ;  and  there  is  something  tragic  about 
the  effect  of  the  letter,  certainly  an  undesigned  one, 
which  has  come  to  our  knowledge — a  royal  present 
to  the  Humanist,  f  By  yet  another  sign  of  life,  in 
the  same  year  (i  527),  Erasmus  manifested  as  well 
his  friendly  disposition  towards  the  family  of  Laski, 
as  likewise  his  wish  to  act  with  stimulating  influence 
upon  the  Polish  clergy  through  the  medium  of  the 
archbishop  of  the  kingdom.  He  dedicated  to  the 
Primate  his  edition  of  Ambrose,  not  only  because 
this  particular  Father  of  the  Church  was  ready  to 
issue  from  the  press,  but  because  the  Humanist 
recognised  many  a  trait  of  resemblance  between  the 
first  prefect  of  the  Church  at  Milan  and  the  present 
primate  of  Poland,  and  wished,  for  the  purpose  of 
animating  the  contemporary  Archbishop  of  Gnesen, 
to  bring  before  his  mind  the  spiritual  picture  of  the 
venerable  Archbishop  of  Milan. 

Very  soon  the  ecclesiastical  relations  seem  to 
have  wrought  with  paralysing  effect  upon  our  Laski. 
As  early  as  a  year  after  his  return  to  his  native  land 
he  complains  to  his  friend  AmerbacJi  that  in  the 
province  of  faith  no  changes  whatever  had  taken 
place.  All  that  has  been  done  has  been  slightly  to 
curtail  the  great  booty  of  the  monks.  The  senate, 
namely,  had  decreed  that  no  monastic  property 
could  be  divided  among  private  individuals,  and 
that  the  private  property  of  monks  and  nuns  should 

*  Tomiciana,  ix.  180.  t  Erasmus,  p.  895. 


1 66  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

after  their  death  revert  to  their  relatives.  "  Sic  forte 
pauciores  monachos  habebimus  "  ("  So  we  shall 
perhaps  have  somewhat  fewer  monks ")  ;  with  this 
exclamation  the  earnest-minded  Dean  seeks  to 
console  himself  in  his  grief  over  the  state  of  his 
Church.  It  was  but  a  dreary  consolation.  The 
longer  the  time  that  passed,  the  more  did  the  faith- 
ful son  become  conscious  that  the  mother  Church 
was  fixed  and  immovable  in  its  old  ruts,  and  the 
scandalised  vision  was  rendered  more  acute  to 
perceive  the  failings  of  this  Church.  It  was  in  those 
days  that  our  friend  formed  in  Cracow  the  acquaint- 
ance of  a  young  man  preparing  for  the  priesthood, 
who  was  then  twenty-three  years  of  age,  a  bachelor 
of  the  University,  and  on  the  point  of  completing  his 
studies  by  a  residence  of  some  years  in  Padua  and 
Bolcgna.  The  gifted  and  devout  young  man  had 
already  attracted  the  attention  and  won  the  favour 
of  the  Bishop  of  Cracow ;  nor  could  the  student 
remain  concealed  from  the  searching  eye  of  our 
Laski,  since  by  his  serious  walk  and  conversation  he 
towered  so  prominently  above  the  life  and  doings  of 
his  fellow-students.  A  Lasco  had  then  indeed 
no  conception  that  one  day  there  would  arise  for 
him,  in  the  young  man  to  whom  he  now  turned 
with  so  much  kindness,  his  own  most  dangerous 
enemy,  and  that  of  the  whole  Reformational  develop- 
ment of  Poland  :  Stanislas  Hosius.  A  generation 
later  he  recalls  to  the  memory  of  his  opponent 
those  conversations  which  he  held  with  him  in 
Cracow,  in  which  Laski  not  only  blamed  the  life 
of  many  false  servants  of  his  Church  (pseudo-ecclesi- 
asttci\  but  also  was  already  scandalised  at  many  of 
their  articles  of  doctrine.  At  that  time  there  still 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      167 

existed   a  friendly   interchange  of  thought  between 
Hosius  and  Laski  on  this  point.* 

Once  Laski  in  his  inner  life  had  entered  upon 
these  paths  and  given  room  to  such  convictions,  the 
natural  result  could  only  be  that  they  drew  him 
ever  farther  upon  by-paths  perilous  for  a  faithful 
son  of  the  Romish  Church.  He  was  not  in  the  mood, 
with  his  earnest  studies,  to  confine  himself  now  to 
the  practical  work  of  his  office  ;  he  must,  in  accord- 
ance with  his  whole  constitution  of  mind,  though  at 
present  only  from  afar,  follow  the  mighty  intellec- 
tual current  without,  in  the  home  lands  of  Humanism 
and  the  Reformation.  Almost  insensibly  he  was 
carried  away  by  the  surging  waves  which,  though 
only  after  long  years,  landed  the  earnest  man  upon 
the  shore  of  the  Evangelical  Church.  The  first 
letter  from  him  contained  in  Kuyper's  collection  is 
to  the  well-known  JoJianncs  Hess,  in  Breslau,  written 
from  Kalisch,  the  chief  town  of  the  palatinate  of 
the  same  name,  to  which  also  Gnesen  belonged.  The 
name  of  Hess  was  a  familiar  one  to  the  Humanists 
and  Reformers  in  Germany  and  Switzerland.  His 
renowned  theses  of  the  year  1524,  on  the  word  of 
God,  the  high-priestly  office  of  Christ,  and  on 
-marriage,  breathe  a  fresh  Reformation  spirit ;  they 
penetrated  deep  into  France  ;  and  Lefevre  testifies  in 
a  charming  letter  to  Farel  from  Meaux  his  warm 
assent  to  their  contents,  f  It  would  appear  that 
Laski  during  his  stay  in  Basle  heard  nothing  con- 
cerning this  Nuremberger,  for  whom  Poland  had 


*  So  I  understand  the  statement,  "  nee  raro  mecum  ser- 
mones  suas  ea  de  re  miscebat"  (Kuyper,  i.  396). 

t  The  letter,  printed  for  the  first  time,  inHerminjard(i.  219), 
at  the  close  of  it  also  the  theses. 


i68  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


become  a  second  fatherland  ;    but  in   Poland  itself 
men  spoke  much  in  liberal  circles  of  the  renowned 
Breslau  doctor,   and   so   our  Laski  turned    to  him, 
animated    at    first    by    the     wish     of    coming    into 
intellectual  contact  with  the  fresh  and  lively  scholar,* 
but  then  also  through  him  to  become  possessed  of  the 
most  recent  products  of  the  book-market.      For  the 
Dean    of  Gnesen  the  stern   inhibition  of  books  does 
not   seem    to   have   existed,  so  far   as    concerns  the 
importation  of  Lutheran  writings.      He  has  at  that 
time    already   read  the   Hyperaspistes  j~  of  Erasmus 
against  Luther  ;  he  wishes  to  obtain  all  the  writings 
which   have  since  then  proceeded  from  the  pen  of 
Erasmus  or  of  LutJier.     The  Hyperaspistes  had  made 
its  appearance  just  at  the  time  when  our  Laski  set 
out   from    Venice  ;   in    it  the   final   and   irreparable 
breach  between  the  head  of  the  Reformation  and  the 
prince  of  the  Humanists  is  accomplished.      So  great 
is  the  bitterness  and  irritation  of  Erasmus,   ordinarily 
so  refined  in  language,  so  calm  and  lofty  in  tone, 
that,  even  as  regards  the  form,  he  exposed  himself 
to  a  perceptible  weakening  by  the  surrender  cf  the 
wonted  moderation  in  which   his  strength   lay.      In 
point  of  contents,    too,   the    Humanist    occupies    a 
lower  standpoint  than  the  Reformer,  in  presence  of 
the   deepest   and   most   mysterious  question    of  life, 
that  of  the  freedom  or  unfreedom  of  the  human  will. 
There    the     Humanist,    with     his     weapons     drawn 
avowedly  from  the  armoury  of  Church   doctrine,  but 
it    is    nevertheless    rather    Pelagius  than   Augustine 

*  Zwingli,  in  a  letter  to  Vadian,  describes  him  (Hess)  as 
"  homo  tersus  sane  et  alacer  "  (Zwingli,  vii.  342). 

t  The  full  title  is  Hyperaspistes  Diatribes  (1526),  a  defence 
of  his  Diatribe  de  Libero  Arbitrio  (published  1524)  against 
Luther's  reply  De  Servo  Arbitrio  (152$}.— TR. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      169 

who  is  there  suffered  to  speak  ;  here  the  monk  and 
hero,  who  has  taken  up  the  giant  conflict  against 
Rome,  and  for  whom  buckler  and  sword  is  the  word 
of  God  alone.  Calvin  has  in  after-days  hardly  laid 
such  decided  stress  upon  the  unfreedom  of  the  human 
will,  as  Luther  in  his  controversial  writing. 

Many,  and  those  even  earnest-minded  believers, 
will  not  be  able  to  follow  the  colossal  man  in  all 
his  most  daring  conclusions  ;  and  Erasmus  by  his 
sharp,  unsparing  rhetoric  would  easily  win  for  him- 
self the  approbation  of  those  whose  so-called  sound 
common  sense  prefers  to  evade  the  serious,  difficult 
questions  with  a  convenient  dictatorial  utterance, 
rather  than  make  the  attempt  to  sound  their  depths, 
much  less  to  think  of  their  solution.  Dorner  is  thus 
right  in  his  verdict  on  this  controversy  when  he 
says  :  "  Erasmus  makes  man,  to  begin  with,  richer 
than  Luther  ;  but  how  much  superior  in  the  long 
run  is  Luther's  notion  of  freedom  to  that  of  Erasmus, 
for  whom  the  highest  and  best  in  the  same  is  re- 
solved into  freedom  of  choice,  who  thus,  as  a 
logical  consequence,  must  teach  an  everlasting  pos- 
sibility of  falling.  Luther's  notion  of  freedom  leads 
to  the  Godlike  real  freedom  of  grace  ;  for  this  it 
could  not  appear  a  privilege,  but  only  a  defect,  to 
be  still  involved  in  choice  and  hesitancy.  Here, 
too,  as  in  the  Christology,  it  is  the  goal  of  the  yet 
to  be  perfectly  realised  idea  which  Luther  has 
apprehended,  though  he  has  been  less  successful 
in  completely  and  distinctly  marking  out  the  stages 
to  the  attainment  of  the  goal  and  the  factors  enter- 
ing into  such  attainment.  Erasmus'  notion  of 
freedom,  with  its  everlasting  twofold  possibility, 
and  with  its  uncertainty  in  regard  to  salvation,  can- 


1 70  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

not  appear  to  him  an  enviable  one ;  nor  can  he 
perceive  a  loss  in  that  condition  in  which  man, 
through  the  power  of  God-given  love,  even  as 
God  by  virtue  of  His  own  free  eternal  love,  can 
eventually  will  only  the  good."* 

In  addition  to  the  second  part  of  the  above- 
mentioned  work,  which  appeared  in  the  course  of 
the  following  year,  Hess  had  yet  many  other  writings 
to  send  to  our  Laski,  in  accordance  with  his  request ; 
for  with  the  most  strained  attention  th'e  circles  of 
the  Humanists  and  the  adherents  of  the  Reformation 
followed  the  decisive  conflict  of  the  two  leaders,  and 
from  the  opposite  camps  resounded  now  one  cry, 
now  the  other.  The  biographer  of  Erasmus  points 
to  a  few  isolated  expressions  of  those  who  had 
been  repelled  by  the  assertions  of  Luther  from  a 
contemplated  adhesion  to  the  cause  of  the  Reforma- 
tion ;t  the  final  issue,  however,  shows  us  not  Luther 
driven  into  a  corner,  but  the  Humanist  retiring  in 
vexation  from  Basle  to  Freiburg,  and  thereby 
abandoning  the  field  of  battle. 

If  we  had  only  an  expression  of  our  Laski 
showing  us  what  was  the  effect  of  this  feud  upon 
him  in  those  days! 

But  no  sound  from  his  mouth.  One  thing  only 
has  become  manifest  for  us  :  that  a  slight  cooling 
of  the  relations  between  Erasmus  and  Laski  must 
have  already  set  in  towards  the  close  of  the 
twentieth  years  of  the  century  (i  527 — 1529).  Long 

*  Dorner,  Geschichte  der  Prot.  Theologie  (Munich,  1867), 
p.  209.  Feugere(p.  274),  as  a  Catholic,  attacks  the  statement 
of  this  German  Protestant,  as  well  as  that  of  Stichart  Erasmus 
von  Rotterdam  (Leipsic,  1870,  p.  368),  who  has  appealed 
thereto,  but,  as  it  seems  to  us,  with  no  valid  arguments. 

t  Feugere,  Erasme  (Paris,  1874),  p.  273. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      i;i 

separation,  no  doubt,  causes  many  an  epistolary 
correspondence  to  languish.  With  ever  longer 
intervals  is  the  correspondence  now  pursued  which 
was  at  one  time  so  warmly  and  zealously  maintained 
between  the  master  and  his  scholar.  That  is  not 
the  striking  part  ;  it  is  more  significant  that 
Erasmus  in  his  numerous  letters  to  Poland  ever 
more  rarely  sends  greetings  to  his  once  so  heartily 
esteemed  comrade.  Nay,  in  the  somewhat  boastful 
epistle  of  the  elderly  Erasmus,  from  his  place  of 
retreat  at  Freiburg,  in  the  year  1530,  in  which  he 
speaks  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances  in  Poland, 
there  is  not  one  word  of  Laski*  Was  it  the 
political  attitude  of  Laski,  the  partisan  of  Zapolya, 
which  imposed  silence  upon  the  timid  man  out  of 
consideration  for  the  Emperor  ?  or  had  the  difference 
of  religious  sentiment  brought  about  a  tension  ? 

Another  cursory  notice  affords  us  the  opportunity 
of  observing  our  Laski  in  his  lonely  studies.  He 
had  prayed  his  friend  Amcrbach  to  forward  him  the 
lucubrations  of  Sadolet  (1527)^  We  shall  cer- 
tainly not  err  if  we  think  of  Laski  in  those  days 
as  being  at  the  standpoint  of  the  upright,  prudent, 
and  able  Bishop  of  Carpentras,  in  the  duchy  of 
Avignon.  Sadolet,  already  in  early  years — at  the 
time  when  Laski  as  a  boy  was  staying  with  his 
uncle  in  Rome — appointed,  along  with  Peter  Bembo, 
secretary  to  Leo  X.,  had,  without  immediately  par- 
ticipating in  the  feud  between  Luther  and  Erasmus, 
sought  on  this  important  question  to  preserve  an 
intermediate  position  between  the  two  combatants  ; 


*  Erasmus,  p.  1383. 

t  Gabbema,     Epistolarum     Centuries     Trcs    (Harlingce, 
1663),  p.  7. 


172  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


he  conceded  more  to  Divine  grace  than  Erasmus  was 
willing  to  do,  declared  himself  in  favour  of  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,*  and  kept  up  a 
friendly  interchange  of  letters  with  men  of  the 
Reformation,  such  as  Buccr,  Sturm,  Mclanclithon. 
He  adhered  faithfully  to  his  Church,  sought  to  pre- 
serve his  diocese  free  from  all  contact  with  Pro- 
testantism ;  to  a  persecution  of  the  Protestants, 
however,  he  would  not  suffer  himself  to  be  led 
away,  but  would  much  rather  apply  the  hand  kindly 
and  gently  to  remove  the  crying  evils  in  the  mother 
Church.  We  can  well  suppose  that  his  writings, 
in  the  case  of  minds  having  such  elective  affinity, 
served  as  a  bridge  for  the  establishing  of  a  spiritual 
converse  with  the  men  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
Reformation,  however  decided  the  protest  which 
the  Bishop  himself  would  have  raised  against  such 
effect.  Was  our  Laski  perhaps  entering  upon  this 
bridge  when  he  applied  to  his  friend  in  Basle  for 
the  books  ? 

3.  THE  SEVERANCE  FROM  CHURCH  AND  FATHER- 
LAND. 

So  passed  the  years  for  our  Laski  in  his  native 
land,  storm-tossed  without  when  the  fate  of  his 
relatives  called  him  to  take  part  in  the  events  of 
the  world,  but  also  storm-tossed  in  mind,  because  he 
inwardly  shared  in  the  conflict  of  spirits  of  that  time, 
because  his  soul  entered  into  the  questions  raised 
by  the  Reformation,  and  raised  with  a  force  and 
distinctness  which  demanded  of  a  pious  heart 

*  Herzog,  xiii.  299. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      173 

answer  and  solution,  and  because  on  a  glance  at 
the  Church  of  his  native  land  he  must  see  how  its 
ministers  lived  on  without  the  understanding  of 
these  questions,  without  deeper  interest,  ready, 
indeed,  to  proceed  with  the  constable  against  all 
freer  movement,  but  disinclined  in  earnest  repentance 
to  begin  in  their  own  lives  the  healing  of  the 
gaping  wounds  of  the  Church. 

In  the  midst  of  this  movement  there  fell  a  severe 
visitation.  The  last  years  of  the  uncle's  life  were 
saddened  in  manifold  ways.  He  had  more  than 
once  to  make  a  bitter  experience  of  the  hostile 
spirit  of  his  powerful  and  closely  combined  opponents. 
He  saw  the  mysterious  shadow  of  the  Reformation 
fall,  too,  within  the  bounds  of  his  own  spiritual 
jurisdiction  ;  but  he  no  longer  knew  how  to  explain 
the  varying  outlines,  and  had  a  conception  only  of 
the  great  peril  with  which  the  Church,  entrusted  to 
his  oversight,  was  threatened  by  this  movement. 
Still  more  heavily  did  the  course  of  events  in  Hun- 
gary press  upon  the  aged  man.  His  heart  was  with 
the  nephew  upon  the  side  of  Zapolya,  and,  with  the 
ardour  of  Polish  patriotism,  he  allowed  his  words  and 
his  means  to  be  drawn  with  his  heart  into  the 
support  of  the  brother-in-law  of  his  king.  Even  a 
heavy  loss  in  earthly  possessions  the  failing  man 
might  be  able  to  overcome  ;  more  distressing,  how- 
ever, was  it  to  him  to  see  that  even  this  his  bearing 
towards  Zapolya,  of  which  he  could  hardly  be  said 
to  make  any  secret,  and  in  which  he  was  conscious 
of  being  in  harmony  with  the  most  eminent  men  of 
Poland,  was  turned  to  account  by  his  never-resting 
detractors  in  order  to  render  him  suspected  at  Rome. 
The  labour  does  not  seem  to  have  been  in  vain. 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


We  are  told  that  Pope  Clement  VII.  placed  the 
Archbishop  and  his  family  under  the  ban.  The 
Cardinal  of  Ancona  is  said  to  have  summoned  the 
legatus  natus  to  Rome  to  answer  in  his  own  defence, 
and  that  in  a  citation  so  boundlessly  violent  that 
he  designated  Laski  therein  as  "  only  in  name 
archbishop,  in  reality  arch-devil,  standing  on  one 
level  with  Datan,  Korym,  Abyron,  Judas."  While 
the  letter  branded  the  nephew  Jerome  as  a  second 
Herostratus,  the  Cardinal  did  not  shrink  from  the 
charge  that  the  Primate  had  acquired  arms  by  means 
of  the  sum  obtained  from  the  alienation  of  ecclesi- 
astical properties,  and  that  these  had  been  sent  to 
the  Turks  in  Hungary. 

The  shameful  document  itself  I  have  not  been 
able  to  find  anywhere,  and  on  several  weighty 
grounds  doubt  its  existence.  But  the  fact  that  such 
a  rumour  should  be  able  at  all  to  attach  to  the  name 
of  Laski  at  a  very  early  period  reflects  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  opponents,  which  he  had  still  to  experience 
himself,  and  which  shed  a  gloom  over  the  late 
evening  of  his  life.  In  February,  I  5  30,  he  officiated  at 
the  coronation  of  the  son  of  his  king,  at  that  time  a 
youth  of  ten  years  ;  afterwards  he  still  held  a  synod 
in  Petrikow,  none  of  which  he  could  have  done  if 
he  had  been  placed  under  a  ban.  On  the  igth  of 
May,  1531,  he  fell  asleep,  now  seventy-five  years 
of  age  and  weary  of  life,  in  his  castle  at  Kalisch. 

Only  our  Johannes  seems  to  have  been  present  at 
his  deathbed.  Stanislas  had  already  returned  from 
France  to  Poland  in  1527;  his  occupation  in  life, 
however,  detained  him  for  the  most  part  far  from  the 
uncle.  Jerome  was  still  in  Hungary  ;  at  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  death  he  hastened  to  his  native  country. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      175 

By  the  end  of  June  the  brothers  met  in  Cracow  at 
a  sort  of  family  council.  The  testament  of  the 
uncle  had  been  continued  up  to  within  a  few  days 
of  his  decease  :  they  were  called  to  carry  into  effect 
the  very  minute  instructions,  which  afford  also  to  us 
an  extremely  interesting  glimpse  into  the  sumptuous 
style  of  housekeeping  of  a  Polish  archbishop  of  the 
sixteenth  century  ;  at  the  same  time  they  had  on 
this  occasion  to  arrange  and  divide  their  father's 
property.  JoJiannes  had  already  a  few  years  before, 
immediately  after  the  death  of  the  father,  voluntarily 
renounced  his  portion  of  the  inheritance  in  favour 
of  his  brothers.  Jerome,  as  the  eldest,  received  the 
ancestral  castle  in  Lask,  the  youngest  brother  a  few 
other  possessions,  among  which  the  principal  was 
the  township  of  Strykon,  with  all  its  outlying  lands 
and  villages.  The  brothers  could  not  remain  to- 
gether long.  Jerome  repaired  from  Cracow  direct  to 
Linz,  in  order  to  treat  with  Sigismimd of  Herberstein, 
the  ambassador  of  Ferdinand,  with  regard  to  the 
projects  of  compensation  and  exchange  to  be  made 
\v\\h  John  Zapolya.  These  negotiations,  together  with 
all  the  mental  strains  of  the  past  months,  exerted  so 
wearing  an  effect  upon  Jerome  Laski,  that  he  had 
hardly  returned  to  Transylvania,  when  he  fell  into  a 
severe  and  dangerous  illness,  which  prostrated  him 
for  seven  weeks  upon  the  bed  of  pain.  Nor  was 
this  the  whole  of  his  troubles.  While  he  was  still 
mourning  over  the  loss  of  the  uncle,  a  son  and  a 
daughter  were  carried  off  in  rapid  succession,  and,  so 
far  as  we  can  learn  from  the  letters  preserved  to  us 
from  that  time,  it  does  not  appear  that  either  of  the 
brothers  was  able  to  tend  him.* 

*  Bucholtz,  Urkundenbuch,  p.  48 ;  but  there  is  an  inextricable 


176  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

The  departure  of  the  Archbishop  affected  the 
destiny  of  our  Johannes  most  of  all.  By  the  uncle's 
death  he  had  been  deprived  of  his  strongest 
support  for  the  ascending  of  the  high  ladder  of 
ecclesiastical  dignities.  Shortly  before  his  decease 
the  uncle  had,  with  friendly  concern,  obtained 
for  him  the  appointment  as  Provost  of  Gnesen 
and  Leczyc.  Now,  however,  he  took  his  place 
as  the  nephew  and  namesake  of  the  deceased  Arch- 
bishop, and  thus  also  in  part  as  heir  to  the  hostile 
sentiment  which  was  cherished  on  so  many  sides 
towards  the  departed.  Men  could  now  with  im- 
punity vent  upon  him  their  rancour  at  his  having 
been  so  long  by  preference  the  object  of  a  too 
paternal  solicitude  on  the  part  of  the  mighty 
Primate.  We  do  not  hear  that  such  interruption 
on  the  path  of  rapid  advancement  had  the  effect 
of  causing  the  bereaved  nephew  to  despond  ;  his 
earnest  purpose  of  mind  imposed  upon  him  other 
and  higher  tasks,  and  in  the  accomplishment  of  these 
the  ill-will  of  the  envious  could  not  disturb  him. 
His  grief  over  the  Church  had  long  drawn  its 
nourishment  from  other  and  very  different  sources 
than  the  pitiful  laughter  of  un gratified  ambition. 
With  the  departure  of  the  venerable  form,  however, 
the  bond  was  loosened  which  with  a  heartfelt  filial 
affection  attached  the  nephew  to  the  uncle  who  had 
manifested  such  faithful  paternal  love,  which,  more- 
over, attached  the  Dean  to  his  archbishop ;  he  could 
now  unhindered  follow  the  guidance  of  those 
thoughts  which  led  him  ever  more  deeply  into  the 


confusion  in  the  dates  on  p.  48  (Wysko,  3ist  October,  1531) 
and  p  49  (Vienna,  2nd  November,  1531). 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      177 

word  of  God,  and  ever  farther  from  the  ordinances 
of  his  Church. 

The  change  was  not  quickly  accomplished.  We 
are  glad  on  Laski's  account  that  a  few  years  yet 
elapsed  before  the  completed  rupture,  since  in  this 
way  the  reproach  brought  against  him  by  his 
defamers  is  deprived  of  its  force — that  from  the 
days  of  his  stay  in  Basle  he  had,  as  a  sort  of 
disguised  apostate,  hypocritically  preserved  the 
semblance  of  attachment  to  the  Romish  Church  so 
long  as  the  high  position  of  his  uncle  afforded  him 
the  prospect  of  an  equally  high  succession.  It  was 
not  the  case  that  the  disappointment  of  this  hope, 
with  which  he  is  credited,  impelled  him  in  vexation 
to  burn  the  ships  behind  him.  He  was  still  fight- 
ing a  giant's  fight  to  be  able  to  remain  in  his 
mother  Church  ;  he  fought  it  faithfully,  earnestly, 
with  the  feeling  of  sadness  that  it  was  a  contest  also 
involving  his  fatherland,  his  beloved  Poland,  but 
ever  more  also  with  the  impression,  with  the  dawn- 
ing conviction,  that  the  wrestling  mysterious  form  in 
the  night  was  the  Lord  Himself,  and  from  that 
moment  with  the  imploring  wish,  "  Lord,  I  will  not 
let  Thee  go,  except  Thou  bless  me."  As  the  blessed 
of  the  Lord,  then,  at  the  dawn  of  the  morning,  he 
had  no  utterance  of  complaint  that  the  sinew  of  the 
thigh  was  thus  shrunken. 

In  the  first  place,  the  death  of  the  Archbishop 
brought  about  for  the  young  Provost  of  Gnesen  a 
series  of  official  labours,  even  before  his  domestic 
affairs  had  been  arranged  with  his  brothers.  The 
cathedral  chapter  of  Gnesen  deputed  him  to  convey 
to  the  Bishop  of  Cujavia,  Matthias  Drscwicki,  the 
intelligence  of  the  election  of  the  last-named  to  the 

12 


1 78  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

archbishopric.*  He  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity for  coming  to  an  arrangement  with  the 
successor  in  office  as  to  the  revenues  from  the 
archbishopric  due  to  the  heirs  of  the  Primate  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  testament.  These 
negotiations  may  not  have  been  altogether  easy. 
The  Bishop  of  Cujavia  was  among  the  opponents 
of  the  departed  Archbishop.  In  the  expostulation 
which  the  heads  of  the  opposite  party  once  (1527) 
presented  to  the  Queen  Bona^  begging  her 
support  against  Laski,  we  find  the  name  of 
Drzewicki.  The  difficult  negotiations,  however, 
found  a  peaceful  conclusion.  It  seems  on  the  whole 
that  the  new  Archbishop  did  not  transfer  his  old 
rancour  to  the  nephew,  and  that  the  ability  of  the 
latter  was  such  as  to  win  for  him  recognition  and 
esteem  even  after  he  had  been  deprived  of  the  more 
than  paternal  support  of  the  Primate.  Almost  seven 
years  after  the  death  of  his  uncle  the  office  of 
archdeacon  of  Warsaw  was  conferred  upon  him 
(2  ist  March,  1538)  \%  the  right  of  presenting  to 
this  important  post  had  been  obtained  of  the  King 
by  Laski  before  his  death  on  behalf  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Gnesen  for  the  time  being,  to  the  great 
annoyance  of  Queen  Bona,  who  promised  to  take 
good  care  that  during  her  lifetime  he  should  carry 
out  no  more  of  his  devices  with  the  King.§  Thus 
the  intriguing  Queen  intermeddled  with  feminine 
hand  in  the  ecclesiastical  questions  ;  thus  rose  and 

*  The  papal  ratification  of  the  election  in  Theiner,  Vetera 
Monumenta,  ii. ,  p.  478. 

f  Compare  Zeissberg,  Johannes  Laski  undsein  Testament, 
p.  588. 

\  Acta  Capit.  Gnesn.  et  Posn.  Lib.  Install.,  i.  49. 

§  Zeissberg,  p.  589. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      179 

fell  at  court  the  designing  game  of  envious  prelates  ; 
and  all  this  while  the  fire  of  the  Reformation  around 
was  now  blazing  high,  and  there  was  urgent  need  of 
laying  aside  all  domestic  contention  and  turning  the 
combined  strength  against  the  opponents,  from  day 
to  day  growing  more  numerous.  The  dignity  of  an 
archdeacon  of  Warsaw,  which  the  uncle  had 
certainly  intended  for  his  nephew  when  he  acquired 
the  patronage,  was  the  last  distinction  which  the 
Romish  Church  bestowed  upon  this  her  gifted,  but 
already  half-recreant  son. 

Exceedingly  sparse  as  are  the  data  from  that 
momentous  time,  we  shall  not  be  wrong  in  sup- 
posing our  friend  had  then  already  advanced  by 
one  foot  beyond  the  tent  of  his  mother  Church.  As 
early  as  1536  the  rumour  was  current  that  Laski 
had  quitted  his  native  land  and  repaired  to  LutJicr 
and  Melanchthon  at  Wittenberg.  The  report  turned 
out  to  be  false,  but  it  shows  what  was  thought  likely 
to  be  true  with  regard  to  him  in  Cracow,  whence  the 
intelligence  comes.  There  is  still  extant  an  interesting 
letter  bearing  on  this  rumour.*  The  letter,  addressed 
to  Laski  by  a  certain  Andreas  Fr.,  under  which  ab- 
breviation I  am  inclined  to  recognise  the  Polish 
statesman  Andreas  Fricius  Modrzewski — a  man  of 
some  literary  note,  and  subsequently  a  member  of 
the  Protestant  Church,  whom  we  shall  meet  with 
once  or  twice  in  the  after-history — treats  the  report, 
made  known  by  Sbigneus  in  Cracow,  as  nothing 
at  all  improbable  or  even  surprising.  We  discover 
from  this  letter  how  the  change  on  the  part  of 
Laski  then  appeared  to  his  friends  a  matter  for 

*  Gabbema,  Epistolarum  Centuries  Tres,  p.  19. 


180  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

discussion.  There  had  already  been  gathered  by 
this  time  at  Cracow  a  little  band  of  kindred  spirits 
(among  whom  at  the  close  of  our  narrative  we  shall 
seek  admission)  who  raised  bitter  complaints — the 
letter  itself  affords  evidence  enough  of  this — con- 
cerning the  condition  of  the  State  and  the  Church, 
and  who  had  a  secret  sympathy  with  the  progress 
of  the  Reformation,  as  with  its  leaders.  It  is  true, 
the  visiting  of  Wittenberg  had  been  interdicted  a 
year  before  by  a  very  stern  edict  of  the  King  ;  but 
that  such  measure  should  have  become  necessary 
shows  in  what  great  numbers  Polish  students  had 
already  repaired  to  this  stronghold  of  heresy  ;  and, 
as  man  is  constituted,  we  know  that  even  the  severest 
edicts  of  this  nature  avail  but  little,  as  they  availed 
but  little  then. 

Modrzewski,  in  that  letter,  gives  us  a  detailed 
report  of  the  diets  of  the  Wittenberg  Concord 
(Sunday,  2ist,  to  Monday,  29th  May,  1536).  That 
which  was  effected  by  Bucer  and  his  men  of  Upper 
Germany  in  their  negotiations  with  Luther  during 
this  week  was  entirely  after  the  mind  of  our  Laski 
in  subsequent  times  ;  and  it  is  like  a  fair  prediction 
when  rumour  speaks  of  him  as  already  in  those 
very  days  present  at  Wittenberg.  Never  did  the 
German  Reformer  hold  out  so  conciliatory  a  hand 
to  the  people  of  Strassburg,  Augsburg,  and  the  other 
towns  of  Upper  Germany,  as  on  that  23rd  of  May, 
when  "  his  eyes  and  face  beamed  in  elate,  joyful, 
and  kindly  mood;"*  he  will  not  contend  with 
the  people  who  do  not  admit  that  the  ungodly 
partake  in  the  Supper  of  the  body  of  the  Lord. 

*  Kostlin,  Martin  Luther  (Elberfeld,  1875),  ii.,  p.  342. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      18 1 

The  diversity  of  views  was  not  inwardly  overcome, 
but  in  that  one  hour  Lntlicr  was  able  to  extend  the 
brotherly  hand  above  and  beyond  this  diversity. 
Many  freer  views  with  regard  to  the  Supper  than 
were  admitted  here  had  Laski  already  heard  ex- 
pressed by  Erasmus  twelve  years  before,  only  orally, 
indeed,  at  the  symposium  with  a  little  chosen 
company.  From  the  nature  of  the  description  given 
by  Modrzewski  it  is  clear  that  our  Laski  had  re- 
mained no  stranger  to  the  development  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Supper  since  those  days. 

Not  as  early  as  1536  was  the  breach  with  the 
mother  Church  completed.*  Two  years  later,  soon 
after  he  had  been  made  Archdeacon  of  Warsaw,  he 
quitted  his  native  land — to  our  eyes,  suddenly — and 
that  with  the  definite  intention  of  thereby  separating 
himself  at  the  same  time  from  the  Romish  Church. 
But  he  did  not  take  this  important  step  in  secret, 
like  a  fugitive.  His  high  position  in  life,  socially 
as  well  as  ecclesiastically,  had  often  brought  him 
into  intimate  contact  with  the  King  ;  and  Sigismnnd 
remained  to  the  last  well-disposed  towards  the 
earnest  and  influential  man,  as  witness  Laskfs 
appointment  to  the  archdeaconship  as  late  as  1538  ; 
and  to  this  we  must  add  the  further  brilliant  testi- 
mony, that  the  King  in  the  same  year  offered  him 
likewise  the  vacant  bishopric  of  Cujavia.  The  fact 

*  Notwithstanding  the  explicit  statement  of  Utenhove — 
Simplex  et  Fidelis  Narratio  (Bas.,  1560),  p.  234 — "  Porro 
Joannes aLasco  1556 tandem  inpatriamrevocatur,  unde  £>/£7>//V 
amplius  annos  nomine  religionis  sponte  sua  jam  exulaverat," 
I  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  date  assigned,  since  Laski  could 
not  possibly  have  been  appointed  Archdeacon  of  Warsaw  two 
years  after  such  manifest  forsaking  of  the  Church  of  his  native 
land.  We  must  not  accept  without  examination  such  notes 
of  time  coming  from  those  days. 


i32  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

indeed  is  not  to  be  reasoned  away  ;  the  friend  who 
delivered  the  funeral  oration  over  his  grave  two- 
and-twcnty  years  later  attests  it  aloud  in  the  pre- 
sence of  those  who  were  in  a  position  to  have 
raised  objection  to  his  statement.*  So  soon  as 
Laski  had  received  any  tidings  of  this  intention,  he 
went  to  the  King  and  candidly  explained  to  him 
the  reasons  which  compelled  him  to  decline  such 
favour.  Ambition  had  no  attractions  for  him,  cer- 
tainly in  any  case  not  any  longer  ;  on  the  eve  of 
his  departure  the  episcopal  dignity  no  longer  cap- 
tivated him  ;  the  cross  of  Christ  and  the  reproach 
and  persecution  of  an  evangelical  preacher  seemed 
to  him  more  desirable.  It  reflects  honour  on  the 
King  that  he  knew  how  to  appreciate  such  plain 
statements,  and  forgot  or  overlooked  all  his  severe 
measures  in  presence  of  the  greatness  of  a  mind 
which  preferred  poverty  for  Christ's  sake  to  the 
luxurious  life  of  a  bishop.  The  King  knew  that  he 
had  not  many  such  men  in  his  land.  He  did  not 
refuse  to  this  rare  phenomenon  of  a  man  the  right  of 
travelling  abroad  ;  nay,  he  graciously  provided  Laskr 
with  letters  of  recommendation  to  the  princes  of 
other  lands.  To  the  end  of  his  life  Sigismund 
could  not  forget  this  man.j" 

It  may  well  thus  have  been  a  sad  leave-taking  as. 
our  friend,  standing  on  that  frontier  which  borders 
on  Germany,  bade  a  last  farewell  to  the  land  of  his 
fathers,  and  cast  one  more  lingering  glance  upon 
that  country  which  he  loved  with  all  the  fiery 
ardour  of  a  Pole,  and  from  which  he  now  tore 

*  Statorius,  Funebris  Oratio  in  obitum  Johannis  a  Lascv 
(Pinczovice,  1560),  p.  6. 

t  See  the  letter  of  Laski  to  the  young  King,  Kuyper,  ii.,  p.  30. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC.      183 

himself,  perhaps  never  to  see  it  again.  Another 
step,  and  the  momentous  die  is  cast.  And  he  took 
that  step  in  obedience  to  the  Divine  voice  within 
his  heart,  in  which  he  soon  already  rejoices  as  being 
the  grace  of  God.  It  has  commanded  him,  as  once 
the  father  of  the  faithful,  to  depart  out  of  his 
country,  and  from  his  kindred,  and  from  his  father's 
house,  away  into  a  yet  unknown  distance,  of  which 
he  only  knew  that  it  would  be  the  land  which  his 
God  purposed  to  show  him.  God  has  indeed 
demanded  of  many,  in  those  hero-days  of  the 
Reformation,  the  same  heavy  sacrifice  ;  and  the  host 
of  the  exiles  in  Geneva,  in  Zurich,  and  in  so  many 
another  hospitable  hearth  of  the  Reformation,  who 
at  home  in  high  position  passed  their  days  of  ease, 
and  now  ate  the  bread  of  indigence  in  a  strange  land, 
testifies  that  they  willingly  presented  that  sacrifice 
for  the  sacred  treasure  of  their  faith,  and  praised  their 
Lord  on  account  of  it.  But  yet  among  the  hosts  of 
hero-forms  there  are  not  many  who  had,  at  their 
Lord's  command,  to  tear  themselves  from  such 
seductive  embraces  as  our  Pole  there  on  the  frontier 
of  his  fatherland.  Yet  long  after  there  resounds  in 
his  letters  the  note  of  that  which  he  had  then  to 
surrender,  not  indeed  in  the  melancholy  tone  of  an 
exile  who  longs  for  the  forsaken  scenes  of  home,  but 
rather  in  the  jubilant  tone  of  one  who  is  conscious 
of  having  passed  through  such  a  sacrifice  into  the 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  Thus  six  years 
afterwards  he  describes  that  time  to  Bullinger, — his 
companion  in  the  faith, — in  the  beautiful  words  :  "  In 
brief,  to  make  known  to  thee  also  the  benefit  and 
kindness  of  the  Lord  towards  me,  I  was  once  a 
Pharisee  of  repute,  adorned  with  many  titles  and 


184  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

dignities,  splendidly  endowed  with  many  and  rich 
benefices  from  the  days  of  my  boyhood  ;  but  now, 
after  I  have  voluntarily  left  all  this  behind  through 
the  grace  of  God,  after  I  have  given  up  my  country 
and  my  friends,  because  I  saw  that  I  could  not  live 
in  the  midst  of  them  according  to  Christ's  mind  and 
spirit,  now  I  am  in  a  strange  land  only  a  poor 
servant  of  my  poor  Lord  Christ,  crucified  for  me, 
lately  here  [in  Friesland]  minister  of  the  Church,  to 
make  known  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  after  the 
will  of  Him  who,  of  His  compassion,  has  called  me 
out  of  the  net  of  the  Pharisees  into  His  flock."  * 
To  another  Swiss  friend  he  speaks  about  the  same 
time  of  the  decisive  step,  in  this  wise  :  "  In  a 
miserable  way  I  had  spent  and  wasted  all  my  time 
in  running  about  in  the  disquiet  of  martial  din,  in  the 
commotions  of  the  court.  But  the  gracious  God  has 
restored  me  to  myself  again,  and  called  me  out  of  the 
midst  of  Pharisaism  in  a  wondrous  manner  to  the  true 
knowledge  of  Himself ;  to  Him  be  the  glory  for  ever. 
Amen.  Thus  now  restored  to  myself  by  God's 
grace,  I  venture,  according  to  my  little  ability,  to 
serve  that  Church  of  Christ  which  once,  in  my 
Pharisaism  and  ignorance,  I  hated,  and  pray  God 
He  will,  in  His  mercy,  not  despise  my  humble  mite 
beside  the  brilliant  gifts  of  others,  after  the  example 
of  the  widow  in  the  Gospel,  but  will  vouchsafe  to 
make  use  of  it  for  the  edification  of  His  Church."t 

Thus  did  our  friend,  too,  as  all  his  predecessors, 
as  all  his  successors  upon  the  same  trying  path  in 
the  name  of  God,  never  experience  a  regret,  never  a 
pang  on  account  of  such  leading  of  his  Lord.  On 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  569.  f  Ibz'd,,  p.  583. 


THE  LAST  DECADE  AS  A    CATHOLIC. 


the  contrary,  he,  as  all  those  other  heroes,  was 
privileged  to  learn  the  truth  of  his  Master's  words, 
"  Every  one  that  hath  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren, 
or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children, 
or  lands,  for  My  name's  sake,  shall  receive  an 
hundredfold,  and  shall  inherit  everlasting  life." 


II. 

JOHN   A    LASCO   AS    A    PROTESTANT  IN 
GERMANY  AND  ENGLAND. 


VII 

ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE. 

IT  may  have  been  at  the  end  of  the  summer  in 
the  year  1538  that  JoJin  a  Lasco  crossed  the 
frontiers  of  his  native  land  and  entered  upon  German 
soil.  It  was  not  merely  a  quitting  of  the  fatherland 
and  a  going  forth  into  a  strange  territory,  but  much 
more, — a  forsaking  of  the  ancient  Church,  a  dissolving 
of  the  most  intimate  family  ties,  and  a  journeying 
into  the  hazy  distance  to  which  the  Divine  voice 
powerfully  and  irresistibly  called  him,  the  voice 
which  will  yet  make  known  to  him  the  unknown 
land  of  his  dwelling.  Our  pilgrim  there  upon  the 
Polish  frontier  stood  in  the  full  strength  of  his 
prime  ;  soon  he  will  have  passed  out  of  his  fourth 
decennium,  a  fine,  well-formed  son  of  his  fatherland, 
with  lofty  brow,  great,  open  eyes,  sharply  cut  nose, 
about  the  closed  mouth  the  expression  of  an  inflex- 
ibly firm  will,  the  whole  vigorous  outward  appear- 
ance full  of  nobility, — an  attractive,  earnest  type  of 
manhood.  Those  who  had  first  seen  him  in  those 
great  days  commend  in  that  manly  form  the  serious 
dignity  expressed  in  the  countenance,  combined  with 
a  trait  of  amiable  grace,  as  also  the  whole  majesty 
of  the  bearing,  which  at  once  proclaimed  a  hero.* 

*  Gerdes,   Introductio  in   Hist.   Evangel.      Saec.    XVI. 
Renovati  (Groningae,  1744),  iii.,  p.  83. 


j9o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

His  spirit's  eye  found  the  land  of  the  Reforma- 
tion essentially  altered  since  those  days, — now, 
indeed,  already  separated  by  an  interval  of  twelve 
years — in  which  upon  the  border  territory  he  had 
looked  forth  from  the  quiet  room  in  the  house  of 
Erasmus  upon  the  rising  tide  of  the  Reformation. 
At  that  time  the  whole  movement  was  in  full 
fermentation,  and  only  the  seething  foam  lay  before 
the  gate  of  the  great  Humanist  in  Basle.  Erasmus 
had  just  entered  upon  his  decision-fraught  passage 
of  arms  with  Luther ;  for  the  companion  of  the 
leader  of  the  Humanists,  in  those  days  universally 
recognised  as  such,  it  might  still  appear  doubtful 
whether  the  Reformer  so  sturdily  hacking  away 
would  come  out  eventually  conqueror ;  and  upon 
that  victory  depended  the  existence  of  the  Church. 
The  mighty  on-rolling  spirit  of  the  Reformation, 
springing  from  the  heart,  and  now  also  laying  hold 
of  the  whole  popular  soul  in  its  depths,  had  set  free 
likewise  other  long,  long-pent-up  forces  ;  and  these 
now  broke  for  themselves  their  stormy  channel  and 
called  inexorably  for  solution,  even  on  the  part  of 
the  Reformation  ;  and  yet  their  source  lay  far  away 
in  another  domain.  It  was  still  very  uncertain 
what  would  be  the  issue,  and  whether  the  Reforma- 
tion would  succeed  in  holding  itself  aloof  from  the 
various  heterogeneous  demands,  and  in  separating 
from  itself  the  impetuous  allies  who,  with  bold 
Radicalism,  forsook  even  the  ground  of  the  Gospel 
to  enter  upon  a  path  of  their  own  choosing. 

The  relations  had  in  the  meantime  become 
essentially  simplified.  Easily,  and  decidedly  had 
emerged  from  the  conflict  of  opposing  elements  the 
clearly  outlined  form  of  that  which  was  then  known 


THE  PILGRIMAGE.  191 

as  the  Reformed  Church.  One  saw  upon  its  face 
the  traces  of  the  arduous  conflict  in  which  it  had 
fought  out  its  fights,  and  at  the  same  time  the  holy, 
joyful  enthusiasm  with  which  that  conflict  for  the 
Gospel  inspires  the  confessor.  The  youthful  Church 
of  the  Reformation,  in  lofty  consciousness  of  this  its 
Divine  right,  could  now  more  calmly  derive  the 
consequences  of  its  victory.  In  the  Retscher*  at 
Spires  in  1529  it  entered  its  protest  against  the 
decision  of  the  Imperial  Diet.  Its  adherents  had 
now  become  Protestants,  counterpart,  indeed,  but 
also  coequal  part,  to  the  Romish  Church.  A  year 
later  the  youthful  combatant  had  already  presented 
to  the  Imperial  Assembly  at  Augsburg,  to  the  Kaiser 
and  the  empire,  her  confession,  as  yet  somewhat 
strongly  emphasising  the  agreement  with  the  old 
mother  Church,  not  yet  bringing  rather  into  bold  relief 
the  clearly  manifest  differences.  But  this  was  per- 
haps the  more  prudent  course  ;  the  adversary  did 
not  feel  called  upon,  as  some  Hotspurs  wished,  to 
dip  his  pen  in  blood  ;  his  deplorable  writing  in  ink 
served,  on  the  other  hand,  only  to  raise  the  courage 
of  the  young  heroes.  Again,  a  year  afterwards,  we 
see  the  Protestant  States  combine  more  closely  for 
mutual  defence  and  succour  in  the  League  of  Sinal- 
calden  (March,  1531)  ;  they  were  manly,  able, 
princes  whom  this  league  selected  as  its  leaders 
The  Emperor  and  his  people  had  henceforth  to 
reckon  with  this  league  ;  and  the  Religious  Peace  at 

*  A  palace,  now  in  ruins,  situated  near  the  cathedral.  It  is 
famous  on  account  of  the  "protestation"  made  (April  igth) 
by  the  five  German  princes — Saxony,  Brandenburg,  Bruns- 
wick, Hesse,  and  Anhalt — and  delivered  in  writing,  20th 
April,  1529,  from  which,  as  is  known,  the  Church  of  the 
Reformation  received  the  name  of  "Protestant." — Tk. 


ig2  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


Nuremberg  in  1532  shows  that  CJiarles  V.  had 
made  up  his  mind  for  such  reckoning.  Both  parties 
therein  pledged  themselves  to  peace  until  the  settle- 
ment of  the  whole  matter  at  a  council  presently  to 
be  summoned.  The  Protestants  had  already  become 
so  strong  in  those  days,  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
best  judges,  they  might  have  wrested  much  more 
important  concessions  from  the  Emperor,  then  pressed 
as  he  was  on  many  sides.  The  deeply  religious 
character  of  the  German  Reformation  restrained 
them  for  the  most  part  from  winning  for  themselves 
the  more  favourable  political  position. 

But  the  violent  political  movements,  which 
threatened  to  draw  all  the  lands  of  Europe  into 
a  vortex,  advanced  in  an  unexpected  manner  the 
firm  establishment  of  the  Church,  reformed  in  accord- 
ance with  God's  Word.  We  have  already  once 
stood  at  the  spot  where  this  whirlpool  threw  up  its 
angriest  waves.  Upon  the  wide,  fruitful  plains  of 
Hungary  it  seemed  for  a  moment  as  though  the 
fate  of  Europe  was  to  be  decided  for  centuries  in 
the  bloody  conflict  of  the  two  pretenders  to  the  crown 
there, — a  conflict  which,  on  the  one  hand,  brought 
the  victorious  S oilman,  with  his  bloodthirsty  hordes, 
under  the  very  walls  of  Vienna  (October,  1529), 
which,  on  the.  other  hand,  seemed  to  bring  to  an 
issue  the  hostile  politics  of  Charles  V.  and  Francis  1. 
and  those  who  rallied  around  them  in  the  varying 
fortune  of  arms.  Kaiser  Charles  did  not  venture, 
considering  the  serious  turn  of  military  affairs,  to 
drive  the  German  Protestant  States  into  the  camp  of 
his  enemies,  and  had  therefore  to  tolerate  very  many 
things  on  their  part  which  he  would  assuredly 
under  other  circumstances  have  suppressed  with 


ON  THE   PILGRIMAGE.  193 


fire  and  sword.  King  Francis,  himself  a  Catholic, 
and  not  willing  to  afford  any  support  to  the  Protest- 
ant movement  in  his  kingdom,  sued  for  the  goodwill 
of  the  Protestant  princes,  with  the  ulterior  object  of 
an  alliance  in  arms.  He  failed  indeed  in  his 
endeavour  ;  but  the  advantage  of  this  political  cur- 
rent accrued  to  the  Protestants  in  those  years. 

The  political  events  upon  the  stage  of  the  world 
in  this  fourth  decade  had  been  nothing  but  favourable 
to  Protestantism  in  its  national  position.  The  hin- 
drance in  the  way  of  attaining  the  full  result  within 
its  reach  arose,  in  a  manner  ruinous  to  all  subse- 
quent development,  out  of  its  own  midst.  The  Con- 
vention at  Marburg  (beginning  of  October,  1529)  had 
clearly  shown  the  dissimilar  mental  tendency  of  the 
two  heads  of  the  movement,  LutJicr  and  Ziuingli, 
upon  one  decisive  point.  The  shadows  of  these  two 
forms  rested  thenceforth  upon  the  hosts  which 
followed  their  leading,  and  gave  to  them  differing 
outlines.  The  merit  of  having  maintained  their 
personal  conviction  must  be  acknowledged  to  both 
alike.  The  greater  and  more  hearty  sympathy  must 
be  accorded  to  the  action  of  that  leader  who,  reaching 
over  the  irreconcilable  point  of  difference,  extends  the 
brotherly  hand  to  the  German  Reformer,  and  has 
with  t»ars  to  see  it  repelled.  How  unspeakably 
much  sorrow  has  since  then  come  upon  the  Evan- 
gelical Church,  which  saw  in  the  rejection  of  the 
proffered  hand  discord  carried  into  its  own  bosom.* 
"  You  have  another  spirit  than  we  !  "  That  fata!, 
lamentable  utterance  became  a  sort  of  watchword, 
which  divided  the  allies  into  two  camps,  between 

*  An  account  of  this  conference  in  Abr.  Scultetus,  Annalcs 
Evangel.  (Heidelb.,  1620),  pp.  187  seqq. — TR. 

13 


1 94  JOHX  A    LA  SCO. 


which  the  common  adversary  then  skilfully  drove  in 
his  most  dangerous  wedge.  It  is  true,  there  was 
felt  on  the  one  side  and  the  other  the  need  rather  of 
filling  up  the  slight  division,  than  of  widening  it,  in 
order  not  themselves  to  work  into  the  hands  of  the 
Romish  Church  by  their  own  discord.  This  feeling 
was  more  lively  in  the  towns  of  Upper  Germany  and 
in  the  Swiss  cantons  ;  with  the  others  the  feeling  of 
being  on  their  guard  against  mingling  with  this  sup- 
posed "  other  spirit "  continued  to  predominate. 
But  Luther,  too,  saw  the  necessity  for  an  approxima- 
tion, and  overcame  for  a  time  his  scruples  regard- 
ing all  contact  with  the  Sacramentarians.  Bucer, 
indefatigably  active  to  this  end,  found  at  Wittenberg 
an  essential  support  for  his  praiseworthy  endeavours 
in  the  person  of  Melanchthon;  LutJier  looked  on  in 
silence,  and  allowed  the  matter  to  take  its  course  ; 
nay — we  have  already  spoken  of  the  fact  that  Laski 
was  thought  to  be  in  Germany  on  that  eventful  day, 
which  for  a  moment  seemed  to  have  called  into 
existence  that  which  afterwards  became  the  most 
zealous  task  of  our  friend's  life — on  the  2Qth  May, 
1 5  36,  a  sort  of  union  was  established,  and  sub- 
scribed to  by  Luther  also  in  the  Wittenberg'  Concord. 
What  joy  was  called  forth  by  this  step,  and  the 
letter  of  Luther  further  accompanying  it,  in  Switzer- 
land, in  all  Upper  Germany !  Zurich  despatched  to 
Wittenberg  a  magistrate's  courier  in  the  Zurich 
colours  and  badges  during  the  summer  of  1538 
with  a  letter  from  the  noble  Bullinger  relating  to 
this  matter.  The  letter  concludes  with  the  beauti- 
ful words  :  "  God,  our  heavenly  Father,  who  is  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  the  Father  of  all  mercy  and  of  all 
consolation,  kindle  in  us  on  both  sides  the  fire  of 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  195 

His  Divine  love,  that  we  may  happily  preserve  the 
Christian  work  of  this  concord,  to  the  hallowing  and 
honour  of  His  holy  name,  and  to  the  blessedness  of 
many  souls,  which  has  been  brought  about  by  the 
grace  of  God  in  opposition  to  Satan,  the  world,  and 
all  their  adherents." 

About  this  time  Laski  entered  the  home-land  of 
the  Reformation.  It  was  as  though  in  the  ordering 
of  his  life's  course  the  moment  had  been  waited 
for  in  which  just  the  personality  could  enter  upon 
the  theatre  of  action  which  in  the  whole  endow- 
ment of  natural  gifts  seemed  to  be  the  chosen  instru- 
ment for  further  labouring  on  the  edifice  of  the 
Reformation  upon  the  basis  of  this  concord.  But 
yet  God's  ways  are  not  our  ways.  The  stranger, 
who  had  turned  his  back  upon  Poland  and  the 
Romish  Church,  was  led  to  his  work  only  by  long 
circuitous  paths. 

Laski  directed  his  steps,  in  the  first  place,  not  to 
Wittenberg,  where  the  friend  had  two  years  before 
conjectured  him  to  be.  He  seems  purposely  to 
have  shunned  the  presence  of  the  great  Reformer, 
whether  it  was  that  the  conception  of  Luther  once 
formed  in  the  vicinity  of  Erasmus  had  not  yet 
entirely  vanished,  or  that  he  had  given  the  promise 
to  his  king,  who  had  allowed  the  highly  distinguished 
son  of  his  country  to  depart,  that  he  would  avoid 
immediate  intercourse  with  this  most  redoubtable 
heretic.  But  neither  did  he,  in  the  first  instance, 
enter  upon  the  way  of  personal  contact  with  the 
Reformers  of  the  other  line.  In  Switzerland  he 
might  quickly  have  renewed  the  old  connections. 
The  intrepid  Zwingli  indeed  had  already  fallen  upon 
the  bloody  field,  a  valiant  Swiss ;  Occolampadius  too, 


196  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

the  brave  Reformer  in  Basle,  had  been  called  away 
by  his  Lord  and  Master  out  of  the  militant  Church 
into  the  Church  triumphant.  But  Pellican  yet  stood 
faithful  and  firm  on  the  watch  there  on  the  Rhine  ; 
and  Basle,  once  as  much  endeared  to  our  friend 
as  is  his  alma  mater  to  a  student,  had  entered  with- 
out much  conflict,  with  calm,  measured  pace,  upon 
the  path  of  the  Reformation  ;  while  Zurich  enjoyed 
the  labours  of  Bullinger,  the  man  of  so  intimate 
spiritual  companionship  with  Laski  in  after-years. 
Further  to  the  south,  on  the  charming  shore  of  the 
Lake  of  Geneva,  there  was  working  indefatigably, 
and  in  the  power  of  an  Old  Testament  prophet, 
William  Farel,  with  whom  our  Pole  had  once  be- 
come acquainted  as  a  fugitive  in  Basle ;  beside 
him,  however,  was  also  his  master  Calvin  already 
labouring — both  heroes  lately  expelled  from  Geneva, 
because  they  were  too  great  and  stern  for  the 
people,  who  would  there  enjoy  a  life  devoted  to 
external  amusements,  both  unquelled,  for  they  had 
experienced  this  their  fate  in  the  faithful  service 
of  their  Lord.  Farel  had  already  taken  his  stand 
again,  with  the  same  uncompromising  severity,  the 
same  fiery  ardour  of  love,  upon  the  other  side  of  the 
lake,  in  the  zealous  endeavour  to  sanctify  to  God 
the  walk  of  the  Christians  in  Neufchatel.  Calvin  had 
gone  farther :  in  Strassburg  he  had  found  a  pulpit 
wherein  to  proclaim  the  Gospel.  What  an  im- 
pression would  he  have  made  upon  the  exile  from 
Poland !  And,  besides  these,  so  many  another 
towering  form  would  have  fascinated  our  Laski  in 
the  fair  German  imperial  city  of  those  days,  kindred 
spirits,  who  would  soon  have  stamped  upon  his 
thought  and  labour  their  characteristic  and  peculiar 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  197 

mark,    not    essentially    different    from    the    impress 
eventually  borne  by  himself. 

We  are  unfortunately  ignorant  of  the  motives 
which  led  our  friend  to  strike  out  another  path. 
At  the  first  glance  the  way  seems  like  a  play  of 
chance,  the  drifting  of  a  shipwrecked  mariner  at 
the  sport  of  the  waves  ;  with  a  deeper  penetration, 
we  recognise  the  leading  of  the  Lord,  who  guides 
the  destinies  of  men  as  the  streams  of  water.  First, 
we  see  the  form  of  our  wanderer  emerging  at 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  somewhere  about  the  time 
when,  in  the  latter  autumn,  the  master-printers  were 
wont  to  assemble  from  all  parts,  with  their  new  stores 
of  books,  to  the  fair  in  the  then  so  important  com- 
mercial town.  Even  from  Cracow,  from  Thorn, 
Posen,  and  Breslau,  the  people  repaired  to  the 
Main,  generally  in  intimate  association,  in  order 
the  more  easily  to  obtain  protection  for  themselves 
and  their  wares  upon  the  insecure  highways.  He 
took  up  his  quarters  at  the  house  of  a  certain 
Hadrianus,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  bookseller 
on  the  Liebfrauenberg,  and  who  in  after-years 
effected  for  him  the  purchase  of  books  and  performed 
other  commissions,  by  birth  a  Netherlander,  but 
naturalised  as  a  citizen  of  Frankfort*  Perhaps  it 
was  just  the  book  fair  which  attracted  the  Pole  to 
the  city  of  the  Main.  For  certainly  not  every  fresh 
contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  Reformation 
was  able  to  pass  the  jealously  guarded  frontier  of 
his  own  land  ;  and  such  a  fair  afforded  the  most 
favourable  opportunity  for  enjoying  one  or  other 
fruit  forbidden  and  perforce  dispensed  with  at 

*  Frankfurtische  Religions  handlungen  (Frankfort,  1726), 
ii.,  Supplement,  p.  50. 


198  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

home,  as  also  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
present  position  of  spiritual  affairs.  Whether  or 
not  Laski,  on  this  his  first  sojourn  in  Frankfort, 
encountered  any  of  the  leading  celebrities,  we  are  not 
informed  by  the  well-kept  records  of  the  town. 
The  free  imperial  city,  its  vigorous  sons  full  of  a 
lively  sense  of  independence,  had  for  the  greater 
part  attached  itself  to  the  Reformation,  at  that 
time  still  with  a  marked  preference  for  the  type 
emanating  from  Zwingli  and  the  Upper  German 
towns.  Laski  formed  an  acquaintance  with  a 
stranger  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  which  ripened 
into  an  intimate  bond  of  friendship — a  bond  which 
in  some  respects  determined  the  whole  after-course 
of  his  life.  Albert  Hardenberg,  a  native  of  the 
Netherlands,  had  fallen  dangerously  ill  with  an 
obstinate  fever  while  he  was  on  his  way  to  Italy. 
Hardenberg  happened  to  be  entertained  at  the 
same  lodgings  as  our  friend.  Some  ten  years 
younger  than  Laski,  and  not  very  distantly  related 
to  Pope  Hadrian,  he  had  as  a  boy  entered  the 
renowned  Brothers'  house  at  Groningen,  called  into 
life  and  endowed  with  an  abiding  reputation  by  the 
noble,  gifted  John  Wessel ;  grown  up  to  be  a  serious 
young  man,  he  exchanged  the  pious  Brothers'  house 
for  the  adjacent  Bernardin  convent  at  Aduard.  His 
teacher,  Goswin  van  Halen,  had  indeed  advised  him 
to  enter  that  convent  in  which  men  like  Rudolph 
Agricola,  John  Wessel,  and  others  had  once  laboured, 
and  regarding  which  he  had  himself  said,  "  If 
formerly  you  sought  a  learned  man  in  Friesland, 
you  would  find  him  either  in  Aduard  or  nowhere."* 

*  Spiegel,  Albert   Rizdus  Hardenberg   (Bremen,   1869), 
p.  ii. 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  199 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  Hardenberg,  arrayed  in  the 
white  cowl,  with  the  black  scapulary  of  the  Bernardins, 
repaired  to  Louvain,  to  complete  the  eight  years' 
course  of  a  theologian  preparatory  to  the  bachelor's 
degree.  He  had  become  an  object  of  suspicion  to 
the  professors  of  a  narrow  creed  on  account  of  his 
more  liberal  conceptions,  and  he  had  the  intention 
at  the  time  of  the  autumn  fair  of  1538  to  travel 
by  way  of  Frankfort  to  Italy.  The  obstinate  attack 
of  sickness  compelled  him  to  change  his  plan. 
Instead  of  journeying  to  Italy  he  repaired  to  Mayence, 
to  acquire  at  the  university  of  that  city  the  highest 
dignity  of  his  vocation,  the  honour  of  the  doctor's 
diploma.  The  new-found  friend  accompanied  him 
to  the  neighbouring  city,  which  in  those  days  had 
received,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  renown  of  its 
university,  the  distinguishing  appellation  of  "  the 
golden  Mayence." 

Just  at  that  time,  days  of  noisy  excitement  and 
turbulence  prevailed  in  Mayence.  After  a  wilful 
absence  of  years,  the  Elector  Albert  of  Mayence  had 
at  length  been  compelled  to  yield  to  the  ever  more 
impetuous  urgency  of  his  people,  and  had  come  from 
Halle  into  his  cathedral  city.  From  February  to 
June,  1539,*  he  held  his  court  in  Mayence,  not  as 
a  spiritual  shepherd,  who  cares  for  the  soul's  welfare 
of  the  flock  entrusted  to  him,  rather  as  a  secular 
prince,  in  whose  veins  flows  the  blood  of  the  Hohen- 
zollern,  zealously  occupied  with  the  raising  of  mer- 
cenaries and  exercising  them  for  speedy  service.  If 
the  oft-recurring  assertion  is  correct,  that  Laski  was 
provided  at  his  departure  with  letters  of  recom- 

0  May,  Kurfiirst  A Ibrecht  von  Mainz  (Munich,  1875),  ii., 
P-351- 


JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 


mendation  from  his  king,  there  was  assuredly  among 
them  one  to  the  King's  relative,  the  Elector  and 
Cardinal,  in  whose  hand  the  ultimate  destiny  of 
Germany  would  have  lain  more  than  once  if  the 
moral  earnestness,  the  religious  depth  of  his  cha- 
racter had  corresponded  to  his  influence.  At  that 
time  the  pleasure-seeking  ecclesiastical  prince  could 
no  longer  afford  any  guidance  to  our  Laski,  even 
though  the  latter  had  at  all  approached  him.  A 
quarter  of  a  century  earlier  perhaps  it  would  have 
been  otherwise.  That  was  the  brilliant  period  in 
which  the  studious  and  art-loving  prince  was  the 
friend  of  Hutten,  and  still  bowed  with  heartfelt 
reverence  and  devotion  before  the  kingly  intellect  of 
Erasmus.  At  that  time  the  distinguished  ecclesi- 
astical prince  was  animated  by  the  ardent  desire  of 
transforming  his  university  of  Mayence  into  a  model 
school  for  the  studies  of  Humanism,  and  at  the 
same  time  also,  quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  great 
German  Humanist,  of  exerting  a  reforming  influence 
upon  the  Church.  Humanism  proved  even  in  his 
powerful  hands  inadequate  to  accomplish  so  great  a 
work.  Moreover,  there  was  wanting  to  this  its 
enthusiastic  disciple  the  sacred  moral  earnestness 
for  caring  for  the  salvation  of  one's  own  soul  ;  he 
too  failed  of  the  realisation  of  his  purpose,  because 
he  forgot  that  the  sanctuary  can  be  cleansed  not 
with  merely  learned  or  humanitarian,  but  only  with 
holy  hands.  The  Elector,  in  his  fondness  for  dis- 
play, would  enjoy  life  in  like  manner  as  the  Medician 
in  those  days  upon  the  papal  throne,  perhaps  with 
somewhat  more  of  German  seriousness,  but  in 
essential  features  the  same.  Elector  Albert  and  our 
Laski  had  started  from  the  school  of  Humanism  and 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE. 


its  great  master  ;  the  after-path,  however,  of  their 
spiritual  development  had  led  them  ever  farther 
asunder;  in  that  spring  of  1539  there  was  already 
no  longer  any  point  of  contact.  One  of  them  had 
risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  cardinal,  yea,  to  the  eagerly 
coveted  possession  of  the  golden  rose  from  the  Pope, 
but  at  the  same  time  had  been  turned  aside  to  the 
most  manifest  rupture  with  the  Reformation.  He 
died,  deeply  aggrieved  at  the  course  of  history,  and 
inexorably  pushed  aside  by  it  in  earnest  judgment, 
to  his  very  deathbed  dunned  by  his  creditors,  while 
even  on  his  inanimate  dust  rests  the  unkindly 
shadow  of  the  pedlar  in  indulgences,  plying  his  dis- 
graceful trade,  half  the  profits  of  which  went  to  the 
treasury  of  the  splendour-loving  Elector,  yet  without 
being  able  to  fill  it.  The  path  of  the  other  led  him 
into  the  Evangelical  Church,  all  his  ecclesiastical 
benefices  and  dignities — and  he  could  perhaps  have 
risen  as  high  .in  his  own  land  as  Albert  in  Germany 
— resigned  of  his  own  free-will,  a  poor  servant  of 
his  only  Lord,  henceforth  ever  willing  and  ready  to 
suffer  hardship  as  a  soldier  of  Christ,  to  the  end 
joyous  in  the  blissful  possession  of  the  grace  of 
Christ  Jesus. 

Laski  seems  to  have  remained  nearly  a  year  in 
Mayence,  remote  from  that  which  was  passing  in  the 
sumptuous  chambers  of  the  Bishop,  and  devoted  to 
serious  studies,  if  we  are  not  at  this  time  already  to 
seek  him  in  the  Netherlands.  Our  sources  fail  us 
for  this  year ;  the  stay  in  Louvain,  however,  seems, 
from  all  the  indications,  to  have  had  a  longer  dura- 
tion than  the  short  interval  which  is  left  if  we  think 
of  Laski  as  remaining  in  Mayence  until  his  friend 
received  his  diploma,  and  not  rather  suppose  him 


202  JOHN"  A   LA  SCO. 

to  have  hastened  out  of  the  Netherlands  to  be 
present  at  the  ceremony.  His  friend  in  the  pursuit 
of  the  doctor's  degree  had  given  lectures  on  the 
books  of  the  Sentences  and  some  epistles  of  Paul. 
The  latter  in  particular  must  of  necessity  confirm 
the  two  men  in  their  Reformational  views.  The 
year  did  not  come  to  a  close  without  Hardenberg 
having  acquired  the  wished-for  dignity.  Laski  was 
present  at  the  conferring  of  it.  The  Emden  Library 
still  contains  the  book  which  he  gave  on  this  oc- 
casion to  his  friend,  now  crowned  with  the  doctor's  cap  ; 
it  was  Reuchlin's  Elements  of  the  Hebrew  Language. 
At  one  time  the  precious  volume  belonged  to 
Erasmus,  whose  handwriting  ("  sum  Erasmi,  nee  muto 
dominum"*)  it  yet  bears.  Nevertheless  it  did  change 
its  owner  when  the  liberal  Pole  in  so  magnanimous  a 
style  purchased  of  the  renowned  scholar  his  collec- 
tion of  books.  Hardenberg,  too,  regarded  the  book 
as  doubly  valuable  on  account  of  the  giver  ;  and 
eight  years  afterwards  wrote  upon  the  title-page, 
"  Therefore  [because  he  had  received  it  as  a  present 
from  Laski  on  the  festive  occasion]  this  book  shall 
not  change  its  master  so  long  as  I  live,  which  I 
testify  by  this  subscription  with  my  own  hand."j~ 
When,  in  the  following  year,  the  agents  of  the  In- 
quisition at  Louvain  burnt  at  least  the  books  of 
Hardenberg,  in  vexation  that  the  heretic  had  escaped 
them,  this  book,  so  highly  prized  by  him,  escaped  the 
flames. 

Soon  after  receiving  his  diploma  Hardenberg 
departed  to  his  native  land.  The  faithful  friend 
accompanied  him  down  the  Rhine.  They  had  no 

*  "I  belong  to  Erasmus,  and  I  do  not  change  my  owner." 
t  Spiegel,  p.  19. 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  203 

wish  to  separate  from  each  other ;  the  Netherlands 
possessed  many  a  point  of  attraction  which  might 
entice  A  Lasco  in  the  course  of  his  spiritual  develop- 
ment. The  home-land  of  Erasmus  had  not  remained 
foreign  to  him  in  his  studies  of  humanity  and  in  his 
common  life  with  the  then  most  famous  son  of  that 
land  ;  he  had  learnt  to  know  and  esteem  many  a 
scion  of  this  land  ;  we  call  to  mind,  for  instance,  his 
converse  with  UtcnJiove.  His  own  brother  Jerome 
had  been  called  to  fulfil  more  than  one  difficult 
diplomatic  mission  in  Brussels  ;  and  his  name  had 
there  too  a  good  sound  in  the  highest  circles. 

The  Regent  of  the  Netherlands  at  that  time  was 
Mary*  the  widow  of  the  unfortunate  King  of  Hungary, 
who  lost  his  young  and  promising  life  in  the  marshes 
of  Mohacz.  In  her  maiden  days  this  highly  gifted  and 
studious  pupil  of  Humanism  had  been  much  esteemed, 
and  even  lauded,  by  Erasmus.  Her  pious  mind  had 
led  the  young  Queen  to  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  she  showed  herself  not  unfavourable  to  the 
evangelical  movements  now  spreading  in  Hungary  ; 
and  Luther  thought  himself  justified  in  expecting  great 
things  from  her.  When  he  received  the  intelligence 
of  the  severe  visitation  which  had  befallen  the  pious 
widow,  he  sent  to  her  at  Vienna,  whither  she  had 


*  Peter  Alexander,  afterwards  secretary  to  Cranmer,  Rector 
of  All  Hallows,  Lombard  Street,  and  Prebendary  of  Canterbury,- 
was  formerly  chaplain  to  this  queen  (until  1545,  to  judge  from 
a  letter  of  Myconius  to  Calvin  of  March,  1545).  He  came  to 
England  in  1547,  was  exiled  in  1553,  and  in  September,  1554, 
was,  with  some  hesitation,  commended  by  Peter  Martyr  to 
Calvin.  Returned  to  England  in  March,  1559,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  there.  He  is  referred  to  in  Original 
Letters  relative  to  the  English  Reformation  (Parker  Soc., 
Cambridge,  1846),  pp.  67,  331  ;  Zurich  Letters  (Parker  Soc.), 
ser.  i.,  pp.  79,  119 ;  ser.  ii.,  p.  50. — TR. 


204  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

fled  from  the  wild  hordes  of  Soliman,  together  with 
the  exposition  of  four  psalms,  that  well-known 
beautiful  letter  of  consolation.*  It  was  a  false 
position  in  which  the  Kaiser  Charles  placed  his 
sister  by  the  call  to  be  vicegerent  of  the  Nether- 
lands, because  to  this  position  was  attached  the 
task  of  suppressing  Protestantism  by  every  means 
in  the  land  of  the  Emperor's  birth.  And  the 
Emperor  displayed  upon  this  point  his  whole  uncom- 
promising, lordly,  intolerant  character,  which  at  least 
would  carry  out  in  the  beloved  land  of  his  ancestors 
that  which  he  failed  to  accomplish  in  Germany,  not- 
withstanding all  his  attempts.  He  purged  the 
suspected  surroundings  of  his  sister,  even  down  to 
the  attendants  ;  while  she  bent  to  the  cruel  will  of 
her  brother,  and  was  too  powerless  to  decline  the 
dread  task,  or  on  her  own  account  to  renounce  the 
splendour  of  viceregal  life  and  with  it  the  friendship 
of  her  brother.f  In  what  a  painful  position  did 
those  find  themselves,  in  those  grand  but  stein  days, 
who  weakly  remained  standing  at  half-way,  and 
therefore  were  bitterly  exposed  to  the  judgment  of 
the  word,  "  He  that  is  not  with  Me  is  against  Me  "  ! 
Laski  would  have  been  no  stranger  to  the  Regent. 
No  other  name  was  more  frequently  in  the  mouth 
of  friend  and  foe,  in  those  bloody  conflicts  which 
lacerated  the  fair  Hungarian  land,  than  this  ;  and 
she  would  certainly  have  granted  the  noble  Pole 
a  distinguished  reception  at  her  court.  But  not  for 
the  sake  of  court  life  and  court  favour  had  Laski 


*  Compare  Luther^  xxxviii.  370  seq.  The  psalms  ex- 
pounded are  xxxvii.,  Ixii.,  xciv.,  and  cix. 

t  Compare  the  letter  of  the  Emperor  to  his  sister :  Lanz, 
Korresfiondenz  Kaisers  Karl  F.  (Leipsic,  1864),  i.,  p.  418. 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  205 

turned  his  back  upon  the  royal  court  of  his  own 
land  and  wandered  forth  into  straitened  exile, 
nor  could  he  have  any  pleasure  in  the  sight  of  a 
woman  who  was  toiling  upon  the  unnatural  task  the 
accomplishment  of  which  could  eventually  be 
purchased  only  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  denial  of  her 
better  endeavours.  Such  persons  he  was  far  from 
seeking  ;  he  avoided  them.  Other  brilliant  offers, 
too,  he  rejected  with  decision.  When,  in  the 
summer  days  of  1540,  he  spent  a  short  time  at 
Antwerp,  he  was  visited  by  the  Archchancellor,  as 
likewise  by  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  who  was 
staying  there  ;  offers  were  made  to  him  in  vain  on 
the  part  of  the  Emperor  as  well  as  on  that  of  King 
Ferdinand.* 

Laski  passed  by  Brussels  and  its  splendid  court 
to  return  to  Louvain.  The  friendly  seat  of  the 
Muses  was  to  afford  him  for  the  space  of  a  year  a 
desired  place  of  retreat  for  inwardly  maturing  in 
silence.  Erasmus  had  on  one  occasion  lauded  the 
renowned  University  and  its  fair  situation.  "  No- 
where," said  he,  "  can  one  with  greater  quiet  and 
freedom  from  interruption  apply  one's  self  to  study  ; 
moreover,  the  neighbourhood  is  pleasant  and  health- 
ful, overspread  by  an  Italian  sky."  t  More  than 
three  thousand  students  out  of  all  lands, — at  that 
time  great  numbers  from  France,  and  not  a  few 
from  Spain, — assembled  in  the  different  lecture  rooms ; 
the  number  and  scientific  rank  of  the  professors  was 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  552.  As  regards  the  chronology  of  this  letter 
compare  the  detailed  notices  in  Bohmer,  Bibliotheca  Wiffe- 
niana  (Londini,  1874),  i.  166,  who  affords  conclusive  evidence 
for  the  correctness  of  the  date  assigned  by  Kuyper. 

t  De  Ram,  Considerations  sur  I  Hist,  de  I'  Univ.  de  Lou- 
vain  (Bruxelles,  1854),  p.  12. 


206  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

in  due  proportion  to  the  great  throng  of  students  ;  an 
ample  collection  of  books  afforded  the  desired  means 
for  profound  research.  But  Louvain  had  become  at 
that  time  in  its  theological  faculty,  through  the 
influence  of  its  leaders,  a  stronghold  against  the 
Protestant  Church  and  its  doctrine,  the  worthy,  nay 
even  distancing  rival  of  the  Sorbonne  and  of  Cologne 
in  opposition  to  every  evangelic  movement.  The 
rule,  already  in  force  during  that  year,  was  confirmed 
by  law  in  1545,  that  no  student  should  be  admitted 
to  the  University  who  did  not  avow  himself  by  a 
solemn  oath  to  be  the  enemy  of  all  the  doctrinal 
articles  of  Luther  and  Calvin*  At  the  head  of 
these  most  pronounced  and  militant  opponents  stood 
LatomuS)  the  authorised  spokesman  of  the  faculty, 
stigmatised  by  Luther  as  the  Louvain  sophist  and 
Ishbi  (2  Sam.  xxi.  16),  whom  a  pamphlet  in  my 
possession  characterises  as  an  assuming  syco- 
phant, j" 

Not  to  sit  once  more  in  late  years  as  a  student  at 
the  feet  of  teachers  who  expounded  a  defunct 
scholastic  theology  did  A  Lasco  come  to  Louvain. 
Nothing  leads  us  to  suppose  that  he  held  any  kind 
of  intercourse  with  these  men,  with  whose  eccle- 
siastical standpoint  he  had  already  entirely  broken, 
and  who  soon  enough  discovered  what  a  suspicious 
kind  of  person  this  stranger  from  Poland  was.  At 

*  De  Ram,  Considerations  sur  I' Hist,  de  /'  Univ.  de 
Lotfuain,  p.  62. 

t  "  Epistola  de  magistris  nostris  Lovaniensibus  quot  et 
quales  sint,  quibus  debemus  magistralem  illam  damnationem 
Lutherianam."  The  letter  is  addressed  to  Zwingli— a 
charming  proof  how  soon  the  bold  act  of  Luther  found  a  glad 
response  even  in  Louvain.  The  tractate  appeared  five  months 
after  Luther  had  nailed  up  his  theses.  The  writer  has  not 
given  his  name. 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  207 

least,  it  is  related  that  they  regarded  with  distrust 
Hardenberg's  intimate  converse  with  him,  and  that 
difficulties  arose  for  Hardenberg  in  consequence. 
Among  the  students,  who  in  part  were  of  much  more 
mature  age  than  our  university  scholars  are  wont  to 
be,  might  already  be  discovered  one  or  another 
enterprising  personality,  who,  resenting  the  un- 
natural restraint  in  the  sacred  domain  of  the  faith, 
inclined  to  the  doctrine  of  the  pure  Gospel.  Many 
a  Reformation al  book  passed  secretly  from  hand  to 
hand,  and  eagerly  was  the  free,  salvation-bringing 
word  received  by  the  young  devout  spirits.  We  know 
of  a  few  youths  who,  though  with  great  shyness 
and  reverence  for  the  noble  Pole,  yet  drew  towards 
him  in  Louvain.  Amongst  these  stands  especially 
prominent  Francisco  de  Enzinas,  who,  as  a  lad  of 
seventeen,  had  been  brought  under  Protestant  in- 
fluences in  his  native  town  of  Burgos  in  1537,  and 
two  years  afterwards,  already  entirely  won  to  the 
Gospel,  had  come  to  Louvain,  simultaneously  with 
Laski,  in  order  to  continue  his  studies.  He  had 
soon  heard  of  the  illustrious  Pole,  who  for  the  faith's 
sake  quitted  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  descended 
from  the  brilliant  height  of  an  ecclesiastical  prince 
into  so  obscure  and  quiet  a  position.  A  letter  from 
him  to  Laski,  written  two  years  later,  describes 
with  eloquence  and  grace  the  deep  and  abiding 
impression  made  by  the  Pole  upon  the  susceptible 
and  ardent  Spaniard.*  Enzinas  was  already  occu- 
pied at  that  time  with  the  translation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  into  his  mother-tongue — a  highly  lauded 
work,  which  procured  for  the  believing  young  man  a 

*  Gerdes,    iii.    82 ;     compare    also   Bohmer,    Bibliotheca 
Wiffeniana,  i.  134. 


208  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

rigorous  imprisonment,  endured  by  him  with  forti- 
tude. Among  the  Flemings,  too,  many  a  devout 
young  man  was  stirred  by  the  new  breathing  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  Gospel,  and  in  consequence  assumed  a 
friendly  bearing  towards  Laski.  We  think  of  the 
gentle  Cassander,  who,  less  decided  than  Ensinas, 
subsequently  wore  himself  out  in  the  life-long 
attempt  to  bridge  over  the  painful  gulf  between  the 
two  severed  Churches,  a  fruitless  endeavour,  accept- 
able to  neither  of  the  two  parties. 

The  circles  in  which  Laski  especially  moved  in 
Louvain,  and  in  which  he  found  the  greatest  profit 
to  his  spiritual  life,  are  to  be  sought  not  under  the 
shadow  of  the  lecture  rooms  of  the  University. 
They  lay  out  of  the  way,  still  contemptuously  over- 
looked at  that  time  and  unmolested  by  the  leaders 
of  the  Church, — hidden  fountain-chambers,  wherein 
the  living  water  collected  which  for  ever  slakes  the 
thirst.  It  is  a  charming  glimpse  which  is  afforded 
us  into  these  little  modest  circles  ;  we  willingly  enter 
their  assembly  for  a  moment  with  our  friend. 

As  early  as  a  century  and  a  half  before  the  events 
of  our  history  there  had  been  kindled  in  the  Nether- 
lands a  fire  of  which  the  light  and  warmth  was  felt 
with  beneficent  effect  far  and  wide,  and  whose  blesi- 
ings  extended  even  beyond  the  frontiers  of  the  land. 
He  who  kindled  that  fire  in  the  temple  was  Gerhard 
Groot,  this  "  truly  Christian  man  of  the  people,  a 
man  of  marked  and  deeply  earnest  character,  not- 
withstanding all  the  geniality  and  kindness  of  a  soul- 
seeking  love,  of  vigorous,  resolute,  trenchant  person- 
ality, without  fear  or  favour  of  men — a  man  of  the 
most  comprehensive  knowledge  and  many  sided 
acquaintance  with  men,  of  great  acumen,  and  affect- 


CLV  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  209 


ing,  moving  eloquence."  *  Were  it  not  impracticable 
to  compare  with  each  other  the  towering  forms  of 
different  ages,  who  bear  each  the  stamp  of  his  own 
age,  one  might  certainly  speak  of  Groot  as  the  Spener 
of  the  Romish  Church  in  the  time  of  its  decline. 
Great  was  the  incitement  which  he  gave  ;  one  recog- 
nises how  much  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  need 
of  the  best  spirits  of  his  time,  as  also  of  his  free  and 
devout  people,  when  he  founded  the  brother  and 
sister-houses,  as  opposed  to  the  sadly  corrupt 
cloisters,  with  their  beggar-like,  degraded  occupants. 
Those  who  retired  into  these  newly  founded  houses 
were  truly  pious  souls,  who  had  calmly  broken  with 
the  world  and  all  that  it  has  to  offer  of  pleasure  and 
honour,  and  in  quiet  and  seclusion,  almost  like  a 
pietistic  conventicle,  would  live  for  the  peace  of 
their  own  hearts,  but  not  exclusively  in  contempla- 
tive indolent  repose.  A  deep  sympathy  with  the 
distresses  of  the  time  passed  through  their  soul,  and 
they  sought  the  lever  for  their  activity,  in  checking 
the  prevailing  corruption,  by  preference  in  the  train- 
ing of  the  young.  Where  their  brother-houses 
stood — and  that  was  soon  almost  everywhere  through- 
out the  land — one  saw  also  the  most  peaceful  indus- 
trious occupants  at  once  busy  in  the  schools  ;  and 
the  blessing  upon  their  labours  was  everywhere  to  be 
traced,  especially  among  the  burghers,  who  at  that 
time  filled  the  thriving  cities  of  the  Netherlands  with 
prosperity.  A  voice  from  those  brother- houses  has 
given  such  wonderfully  classic  expression  to  the 
peculiar  tone  of  mind  there  current,  that  this  voice 
can  since  then  nevermore  be  reduced  to  silence,  and 

*  Herzog,  i.  680  (2nd  ed.). 

14 


2io  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

finds  its  devoutly  listening  hearers  in  countless 
numbers  within  the  Evangelical  and  the  Romish 
Church — it  is  the  ardent,  sweet,  devout,  profoundly 
contemplative  word  of  Thomas  a  Kempis,  who  in  a 
unique  manner  possessed  the  secret  of  making  him- 
self heard  as  a  solitary  voice  between  the  two 
Churches,  a  nightingale  in  the  twilight  of  the  break- 
ing day.  We  do  not  recognise,  in  its  full  tones,  the 
home  note  of  our  beloved  Evangelical  Church  in  the 
word  of  the  pious  quiet  man  of  the  Agnetenberg, 
near  Zwolle  ;  we  detect  in  more  than  one  passage 
that  his  preaching  does  not  entirely  accord  with  that 
of  a  Paul  :  that  bent  of  mind  was  not  exactly  the 
Reformation,  and  could  not  offer  a  substitute  for  it, 
however  essential  a  preparatory  labour  it  neverthe- 
less remains  in  the  Netherlands. 

In  Louvain,  too,  a  powerful  influence  of  these 
brother-houses  is  to  be  traced  in  the  instruction  of 
the  young.  Here  too  the  free  spirit  of  the  citizens 
was  awakened  ;  and  that  profound  pious  earnestness, 
which  sought  to  investigate  Divine  truth  at  the 
fountain-head,  was  effectually  kindled.  Precisely  in 
the  burgher  circles  was  stirred  up  a  vigorous  self- 
consciousness,  which  would  not  any  longer  blindly 
submit  to  all  the  arbitrary  precepts  of  the  Church  and 
its  dominating  priests,  whose  immoral  walk  caused 
so  great  scandal  and  offence  to  the  honest  burgher- 
folk.  Specially  the  Guild  of  the  Cloth-weavers  was 
very  strongly  represented  in  Louvain  also  ;  Flemish 
cloth  was  everywhere  in  high  request.  Even  as  far 
as  Cracow  the  wealthy  merchants  despatched  their 
bales  of  costly  wares,  and  by  this  time  also  beyond 
the  seas  and  to  the  farthest  coasts.  The  other 
trades,  too,  were  flourishing  in  this  populous 


CLV  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  211 

university  town.  There  was  present  a  lively, 
assiduous  zeal,  which  now  turned  to  those  great 
religious  questions  that  knocked  in  particular  at  the 
door  of  the  quiet  burgher-houses,  and  there  too 
claimed  admittance  and  solution.  Let  us  enter  one 
of  these  houses,  in  which  our  friend  was  wont  often 
to  be  found,  yea,  where  he  even  made  his  abode  for 
a  considerable  time. 

The  unpretending  burgher-house  lies  not  in  the 
centre  of  the  town  and  of  its  intellectual  life,  where 
at  that  time,  in  the  freshness  of  sumptuous  and 
cheerful  splendour,  stood  the  monumental  structure 
of  the  Council  House,  to  this  day  the  fair  witness  to 
the  lively,  active  mind  of  the  citizens  of  that  period  ; 
we  have  to  seek  it  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  close 
to  the  ramparts,  where  the  little  stream  La  Voer 
mingles  with  the  rivulet  of  the  town  La  Dyle.  There, 
on  the  Bolleborre,  dwelt  Antoinette  van  Rosmers, 
who  was  closely  connected  with  the  best  families  of 
the  place.  The  year  before  (1539)  she  had  lost 
her  husband  and  two  children  during  the  pre- 
valence of  a  pestilence ;  only  the  one  grown-up 
daughter,  Gudula,  had  remained  to  her.  A  widow 
at  the  age  of  fifty,  she  had  also  been  deprived  of  her 
property  ;  she  must  seek  a  more  modest  dwelling  ; 
perhaps  also  she  made  some  small  addition  to  her 
income  by  the  letting  of  her  rooms,  for  we  know 
from  Enzinas  that  Laski  dwelt  at  her  house  and 
went  in  and  out  thereat*  The  trying  visitation  had 
only  led  the  pious  widow  and  her  Jike-mindcd 

*  Campan,  Memoires  de  Franzisco  de  Enzinas  (Bruxelies, 
1862),  i.,  p.  102  :  "  Antoinette  etait  presque  de  la  plus  honeste 
et  principale  famille  de  toute  la  ville ;  Monsieur  Jan  Laski 
avail  quelquefois  loge  en  sa  maison." 


212  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

daughter  more  deeply  into  the  Word  of  God  ;  that 
which  the  Church,  with  its  priests,  did  not  afford  her, 
the  Lord  conferred  upon  her  in  the  Gospel,  the 
German  translation  of  which  she  had  been  able  secretly 
to  obtain.  The  good  Word  of  God  became  her  con- 
soler and  her  only  teacher,  at  whose  feet  she  sat, 
supremely  intent  on  learning  the  one  thing  needful. 
And  God  led  her  to  the  discovery  of  the  pearl  of 
great  price.  Her  house  became  the  centre  of  a 
group  of  companions  in  the  faith,  who  often  found 
themselves  in  a  wondrous  way  gathered  together, 
as  though  God  Himself  had  brought  them  there. 
Only  quite  in  secret,  in  a  stolen  manner,  did  they 
assemble  in  the  back  room  of  the  widow,  with 
closed  doors,  as  the  Apostles  at  the  Paschal  time  for 
fear  of  the  Jews.  Of  us  the  quiet  believing  people 
need  be  in  no  terror  ;  and  undisturbed  can  we,  with 
Laski,  join  for  one  evening  in  their  little  gathering. 

There  are  always  but  few  who  meet  at  the  house 
on  the  Bolleborre,  in  order  to  escape  all  attention, 
for  the  Quintin's  church  stands  not  far  from  the 
house,  and  who  knows  but  the  suspicious  priests 
have  their  doubts,  or  even  have  their  informers  in 
the  neighbourhood  ?  To-day  there  have  assembled 
in  the  house  of  the  widow  the  rarely  absent  Josse  van 
Ousberghen,  a  furrier  by  trade,  deeply  grounded  in 
the  Gospel,  full  of  peace  of  soul,  of  a  quiet  nature, 
but  immovably  steadfast  and  robust  in  his  faith. 
With  him  enters  one  of  the  sculptors,  Jan  Beyarts, 
along  with  his  already  aged  wife,  Catharine 
Metsys ;  the  member  of  their  household,  too,  Jan 
Schats,  is  not  absent  this  evening.  If  we  were  to 
enter  again  another  time,  we  should  meet  with  new 
faces.  When,  at  the  expiration  of  about  three  years, 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  213 

the  enemies  stretched  forth  their  blood-seeking  hands 
against  this  little  flock  of  believers,  they  apprehended 
a  band  of  forty-three  companions  in  the  faith 
(March,  1543). 

The  edification  begins  with  Josses  reading  a 
passage  of  the  New  Testament,  and  endeavouring  to 
explain  it.  Those  present  take  part  in  the  ex- 
position ;  one  thing  helps  the  other  in  the  unfolding 
of  Scripture  ;  and  we  observe  from  the  deeply 
edifying  remarks  that  those  present  are  no  longer 
children  in  understanding.  After  this  the  Postil  is 
brought  in,  long  a  specially  favourite  book  of 
edification  with  them.  They  know  not  much  of  him 
who  wrote  the  book,  the  great  German  Reformer, 
and  are  in  no  kind  of  communication  with  him  ;  but 
what  they  read  there  agrees  so  fully  with  the  dear 
Word  of  God  and  so  powerfully  refreshes  their  souls 
by  its  vigorous  way  of  speaking.  The  book  then 
has  eluded  the  prying  eyes  of  the  censors  and  the 
priests ;  over  there  in  Amsterdam  there  were 
already  many  booksellers  who  kept  the  forbidden 
Reformational  writings  and  knew  how  to  deliver 
them  to  the  purchaser,  and  full  many  an  enkindling 
tractate  found  its  way  into  the  workroom  even  in 
Louvain.  By  cunning  secret  paths  it  had  eluded 
the  vigilance  of  those  on  the  watch.  A  method  to 
which  recourse  was  frequently  had,  and  that  with 
success,  was  to  bind  up  the  coveted  Evangelical 
fly-sheet  with  a  bulky  volume  of  indifferent  contents, 
to  which  the  cursory  glance  of  the  censor  heedlessly 
granted  the  privilege  of  diffusion.* 

This  reading  from  the  Postil,  or  some  other  book 

*  Compare  Campan,  ii.  338. 


214  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  edification,  was  followed  by  a  free  conversation  on 
one  or  other  article  of  the  faith.  Of  one  accord 
were  they  in  the  rejection  of  purgatory.  The  Sacred 
Supper  they  regarded  for  the  most  part  only  as  a 
commemorative  meal  ;  they  could  find  no  passage 
in  their  New  Testament  which  constrained  them  to 
suppose  the  actual  bodily  presence  of  the  Lord  in 
the  sign  of  the  bread  and  wine,  or,  yet  more,  to  infer 
the  transubstantiation  of  the  Romish  Church.  These 
views  were  not  at  all  strange  to  Laski.  He  had 
already  heard  them  uttered  in  Basle,  in  the  private 
circle  of  Erasmus  and  his  intimate  friends.  One 
would  hear  them  at  that  time  in  different  places, 
even  where  there  was  no  imagination  of  their  fully 
outlined  form  in  Zwingli.  Perhaps  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting,  after  the  prayer,  they  would  sing  in  a 
suppressed  tone  one  of  the  Psalms,  translated  into 
the  Flemish  by  a  clergyman  of  the  cathedral  church, 
Paul  van  Rovere,  an  old  devoted  master,  feeble  in 
body,  but  vigorous  in  spirit  and  well-disposed  to- 
wards the  Evangelicals  in  Louvain.* 

With  sacred  earnestness  did  they  hold  these  con- 
ferences. When  once  a  word  of  derision  escaped 
the  lips  of  one  present  concerning  the  doctrine  of 
purgatory,  of  the  untruth  of  which  all  were  con- 
vinced, the  derider  drew  down  upon  himself  a  stern 
rebuke.  They  did  not  wish  to  separate  from  the 
Church  ;  they  wished  to  remain  with  it  in  peace,  so 
long  as  they  were  only  let  alone  in  their  Bible- 
searching  and  mutual  edification.  They  had  already 
indeed  passed  beyond  the  boundary  line  marked  for 
them  by  the  Church,  even  farther  than  those 

*  Campan,  ii.  466. 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  215 

Brothers    of    the    Common    Life    from    whom    the 
spiritual  incentive  had   unquestionably  proceeded   to 
them  ;     but     they    were    fain    to    leave    the    whole 
decision -fraught   question    untouched,    if  they    were 
only  suffered  to  live  quietly  in  accordance  with  their 
faith.     And    they   lived   out  this   life   of   faith   also 
among  themselves  in  a  form  as  beautiful  as  that  of 
the   first   little    assemblies    of   the    Apostolic    time. 
Where  one  was  sick,  the  others  held  faithful  watch- 
ing ;  and  with  the  spiritual  ministry  went  hand  in 
hand    the     ceaseless     bodily     tending     of   the    sick 
brother.      They  had  collected  their  little  fund  out  of 
the  voluntary  alms,  and  from  this  were  wont  to  aid 
such   as  were   in   distress  ;    moreover,  they  went   in 
search  of  others  in  the  town  who  were  indigent  and 
necessitous,  to  confer  upon  them  the  alms  willingly 
bestowed.      They  lived  and  moved  in  the  Word  of 
God  as  their  native  element.      When  in  the  evening 
after    labour    they    met    on   their   walks   along    the 
ramparts,  or  when  on  the  warm  summer  days  they 
passed  beyond  the  city  gates,  perhaps  to  the  adja- 
cent Rosselberg,  and   met,   as  they  supposed,  unob- 
served, the  one  or  the  other  would  draw  forth  his 
securely  guarded  Testament  from  its  leathern  pouch ; 
a   few   verses   would    be    read,  and  would  afford    to 
those   walking   in    the   truth   abundant  material  for 
coveted  interchange  of  experience.      One   discovers, 
from  that  which  is  related,  the  joy  and  delight  of 
people  who  have  long  wandered  in  devious  paths, 
but  now  see  themselves  led  by  the  Lord  their  Shep- 
herd in  green  pastures  and  by  still  waters. 

Laski,  who,  with  Hardenberg  and  Enzinas,  had 
been  brought  into  contact  with  this  evangelical 
circle,  probably  found  here  that  of  which  he  had 


216  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

been  in  quest  :  a  little  believing  congregation, 
according  to  the  Word  of  God,  earnestly  striving 
after  sanctification  of  life  ;  loyal  forms,  strong  in 
the  faith,  ready  on  the  morrow  to  go  to  the  stake 
and  seal  their  faith  with  their  blood.  The  dawning 
light  of  this  coming  day  already  rested  upon  those 
illuminated  features,  the  aurora  of  their  martyrdom  ; 
this  is  ever  a  refreshing  and  gladdening  sight. 
Those  whose  entering  into  the  house  of  the  noble 
Antoinette  for  quiet  edification  we  have  just  wit- 
nessed, all  had  the  joy  within  three  years  of  prais- 
ing the  name  of  the  Lord  by  their  death.  The 
men  whose  names  we  have  mentioned  suffered  with 
constancy  death  by  fire  and  halter  ;  the  heroic 
women  were  buried  alive.  Thus  the  Romish  Church 
punished  the  offence  of  loving  the  Word  of  God,  and 
leading  a  hallowed  life  in  accordance  with  its  truth. 
The  barbarous  punishment  did  not  quench  the  sacred 
fire  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  sparks  flew  throughout  the 
whole  land,  and  carried  the  flames  only  the  farther. 

How  greatly  our  friend  felt  himself  at  home  in 
the  midst  of  these  devout  people  is  evident  from  the 
fact,  among  others,  that  in  the  social  life  he  lived 
with  them  the  resolution  was  matured  of  trampling 
down  the  last  plank  fora  retreat  to  the  old  life  of  the 
priesthood,  and  breaking  through  the  injunction  of 
celibacy.  This  step  was  the  public  and  final  re- 
nouncing of  the  ordinances  of  the  Romish  Church, 
the  henceforth  irremediable  breach  with  that  Church. 
From  among  the  simple  burghers'  daughters  of  the 
city  he  chose  to  himself  a  companion  for  life.  We 
regret,  after  much  research,  not  to  have  been  able  to 
discover  the  faintest  trace  of  her  family  connections 
or  of  her  past  history  ;  even  the  maiden  name  is 


O.V  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  217 

unknown  to  us.  We  can  only  suppose  that  the  fair 
shadow  of  the  spiritual  life  of  this  devout  circle  had 
fallen  fully  and  abidingly  into  her  soul  too  ;  we 
may  perhaps  discover  in  her  a  young  friend  and 
companion  of  Gudula,  like  her  too  in  the  flower  of 
her  age,  of  the  renowned  beauty  of  the  Flemish 
women,  full  of  nobility  of  bearing.*  She  seems 
indeed  to  have  had  relatives  in  Louvain.  A  year 
after  Laski  had  quitted  the  town  she  returned  for  a 
short  time  on  a  visit  to  her  native  place,  bringing 
with  her  the  first-born  baby-daughter,  the  very  image 
of  the  father,  with  motherly  joy  to  show  the  child 
to  the  grandparents.  Enzinas  was  acquainted  with 
the  wife  of  Laski  from  her  maiden  days.  Hardly 
did  he  hear  of  her  visit  to  Louvain  before  he 
hastened  to  her  house  to  greet  her,  and  to  obtain 
tidings  of  her  husband,  whom  he  was  just  then  think- 
ing of  looking  up  in  his  new  home  in  Friesland.j" 

Not  very  long  after  his  marriage  did  Laski  con- 
tinue to  dwell  in  Louvain.  The  counsel  which  he 
gave  a  few  years  afterwards  to  his  friend,  still 
hesitating  to  leave  the  cloister,  he  now  fulfilled  with 
swift  resolution  himself.  "  I  believe  those  words  are 
given  by  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of  God  which  are 
written  (fea.  Hi.  and  2  Cor.  vi.),  '  Come  out  from 
among  them,  and  be  ye  separate.'  If  thou  referrest 
this  word  to  flight  in  spirit,  of  a  certainty  he  who 
has  once  truly  and  inwardly  accomplished  this  can 
no  longer  voluntarily  hold  converse  with  those  whom 
he  sees  continue  to  dishonour  the  merits  of  Christ. "J 

*  As  such,  at  least,  the  Spaniard  describes  the  daughter  of 
the  widow  Antoinette, 
t  Gerdes,  Hi.  82. 
t  Kuyper,  ii.  557. 


218  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Trying  times  set  in.  Over  in  Ghent  insurrections 
had  broken  out :  the  friends  of  the  Reformation  had 
attempted  to  shake  off  by  force  the  oppressive  yoke 
of  the  intolerant  Church.  Kaiser  Charles  had  at  the 
intelligence  thereof  hastened  to  the  land  of  his  birth, 
with  violence  to  suppress  the  dangerous  heresy. 
From  every  part  of  the  dominant  Church  he  was 
urged  to  proceed  with  unrelenting  rigour,  and  there 
was  no  need  in  his  case  of  any  strong  pressure  to 
this  end.  Severe  laws  were  enacted.  All  books 
printed  in  Germany  within  the  past  twenty  years 
were  interdicted  ;  no  one  was  permitted  to  compose, 
or  even  sing,  spiritual  songs  in  the  language  of  the 
country ;  the  conventicles  *  were  forbidden  ;  even 
the  thoughts  were  no  longer  allowed  to  pass  un- 
challenged. There  was  no  hesitation  in  Louvain 
about  carrying  these  Draconian  laws  into  effect. 
One  of  the  first  to  experience  their  operation  was 
Hardenberg.  With  fearless  eloquence  the  young 
doctor  of  theology,  after  his  return  from  Mayence, 
expounded  the  epistles  of  Paul  to  a  crowded 
audience  ;  the  citizens,  too,  loved  to  listen  to  the 
ingenuous  speech  of  the  gifted  man,  who  "  spake  not 
as  the  scribes "  of  Louvain.  He  was  accused  at 
court.  The  order  was  given  that  he  should  be 
carried  captive  to  Brussels,  whereby  his  fate  would 
have  been  sealed  ;  the  capital  of  the  empire  had  then 
acquired  the  melancholy  cognomen  of  "slaughter- 
house of  the  Christians."  The  Louvain  citizens 
interceded  on  his  behalf;  the  appeal  was  successful 

*  The  name  seems  here  to  occur  for  the  first  time  in  this 
signification  :  "  Prohibentur  congressus  hominum  de  religione 
loquentium  ;  quae  ab  illis  [who  take  part  therein]  conventicula 
appellantur  "  (Campan,  i.  130). 


ON  THE  PILGRIMAGE.  219 

to  the  extent  that  for  this  time  the  inquisitors  were 
content  with  burning  his  heretical  books  and  con- 
demning him  in  the  costs  of  the  proceedings.  More- 
over, he  was  banished  from  the  city  ;  he  retired 
accordingly  to  his  cloister  of  Aduard. 

Nor  did  Laski  any  longer  continue  to  dwell  in 
the  inhospitable  Louvain,  among  men  who,  in 
place  of  investigating  the  truth,  preferred  to  act  as 
bloodhounds  for  the  Inquisition.  He  went  in 
search  of  a  land  where,  unmolested,  he  could  live 
out  his  faith  in  the  greatest  seclusion.  Close  to  the 
frontier  of  the  Netherlands  lay,  as  a  hidden  corner 
of  the  earth,  a  little  free  domain,  which  offered  a 
friendly  asylum  in  those  days  of  persecution.  It  was 
East  Friesland.  Thither  did  our  friend,  again  taking 
in  his  hand  the  traveller's  staff,  direct  his  steps. 

The  way  thither  ran  northwards,  past  Groningen. 
It  is  more  than  probable  that  A  Lasco  made  a 
diversion  from  Groningen  to  the  cloister  of  Aduard, 
distant  only  some  seven  or  eight  miles,  which  had 
received  Hardenberg  within  its  walls.  The  cloister 
was  larger-hearted  and  more  lenient  than  the  Uni- 
versity. The  banished  one  of  Louvain  had  not 
only  found  refuge  in  the  hospitable  cell  of  the 
monastery  ;  not  only  was  the  liberal-minded  monk 
left  without  interference  in  the  enjoyment  of  his 
evangelical  views  ;  the  abbot  even  granted  him  the 
right  of  preaching  and  lecturing,  and  the  monks  now 
eagerly  listened  to  a  discourse  which  the  students 
were  forbidden  to  hear.  Hardenberg  owed  this 
freedom  to  the  accomplished  abbot  of  the  widely 
renowned  monastery.  For  the  past  twelve  years 
it  had  been  under  the  oversight  of  Johannes  Reekamp, 
in  the  succession  of  the  abbots  the  one  most  highly 


220  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

distinguished.*  Our  refined  Pole,  too,  was  capti- 
vated by  this  noble  and  intellectual  personality. 
He  wishes  all  monasteries  had  abbots  like  this, 
devoting  themselves  with  like  zeal  and  skill  to  the 
education  of  youth  ;  yea,  he  sincerely  loves  the 
kindly  abbot,  and  lauds  the  purity  and  uncorrupted- 
ness  of  his  character.!  But  no  cloister  can  enchain 
him  more  ;  it  is  not  long  before  he  points  out  to  his 
friend  that  an  abiding  even  in  the  largest-hearted 
cloister  was  for  a  man  of  his  convictions  an 
hypocrisy,  which  the  man  must  dare  to  shake  off 
who  would  stand  approved  in  the  truth.  As  this 
cloister,  lying  there  hard  by  the  confines  of  the 
land,  in  its  doings  and  practisings  had  the  frontier 
territory  of  the  Romish  Church  already  behind  it, 
so  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  find  many  similar 
ones  elsewhere,  which  served  as  welcome  retreats 
for  faint-hearted  souls  in  those  unkindly  days,  in 
which  men  could  silently  cherish  the  evangelical 
convictions  they  had  not  the  courage  to  avow,  and 
at  the  same  time  enjoy  the  agreeable  sense  of  an 
existence  free  from  care.  Such  feeble  natures  are 
surely  also  worthy  of  no  better  fate  than  in  this 
way  slowly  to  wither  and  disappear,  world-forgotten, 
behind  the  walls  of  a  monastery. 

For  our  friend  a  more  pleasant  portion  had  been 
provided  by  his  Lord.  He  passed  the  cloister  by, 
to  advance  for  his  confession's  sake  farther  abroad, 
deeper  into  the  conflict  and  into  bitter  sorrow,  but 
with  this  also  into  the  gracious  knowledge  that  such 
a  life  is  a  glorifying  of  God. 

*  Koppius,     VitcB    ac     Gesta     Abbatum     Adwerdensium 
(Gron.,  1850),  p.  37. 
t  Kuyper,  ii.,  p.  553. 


VIII. 
AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND. 

ALA  FRIA  FRESENA  :  "  Welcome,  free 
Frisian  !  "  Such  was  the  salutation  with  which 
the  deputies  out  of  the  seven  maritime  districts 
of  East  Friesland  hailed  each  other  in  olden  times 
when  they  assembled  on  the  Tuesday  of  Whitsun 
week  in  each  year  at  Upstallsboom,  a  rising  ground 
in  the  vicinity  of  Aurich,  to  take  counsel  together 
on  the  rights  which  every  Frieslander  was  pledged 
to  maintain.  Yes,  a  free  people  there  in  the  shadow 
of  primeval  oaks,  and  worthy  indeed  of  offering  him 
the  greeting  of  welcome !  They  have  manfully 
defended  themselves  centuries  long  against  wave 
and  billow  of  the  encroaching  sea,  which  threatened 
to  swallow  up  the  low-lying  tract  of  land,  and 
actually  did,  spite  of  fence,  and  dyke,  and  dam, 
in  the  course  of  the  ages  swallow  up  so  many  a 
strip  of  land  ;  they  have  also  just  as  manfully  and 
bravely  risen  against  all  who  would  subdue  the 
hardy,  stubborn  race  ;  their  unvarying  answer, 
spoken  with  the  sword  in  the  bloody  conflict  of 
men,  was  the  proud,  noble  saying :  "  We  will  re- 
main free  and  Frisian."  Jacob  Grimm  gives  to 
the  name  the  interpretation,  that,  like  the  name 
of  the  Franks,  it  signifies  a  free  people.  Jealous 
were  the  folk  of  this  their  treasure ;  even  the  height 


222  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  the  houses  was  prescribed,  that  not  any  one 
in  the  nation  might  exalt  himself  and  aspire  to 
high  things.  With  satisfaction  does  Tacitus  in  his 
day  describe  this  race  between  the  Weser  and  the 
Ems,  high  in  the  north,  on  the  coast  of  the  sea. 
They  are  for  him  a  high-minded  people  among 
the  Germans  ;  just,  without  craving  for  the  posses- 
sion of  others  ;  not  men  of  violence,  but  heroic  and 
well-nigh  invincible  when  they  see  their  freedom 
and  their  soil  imperilled.  Charles  tJie  Great  (Charle- 
magne) had  need  of  putting  forth  all  his  strength  ; 
it  was,  moreover,  a  thirty  years'  war  which  he  had 
to  wage  against  this  people,  and  the  victor  after 
all  was  obliged  to  concede  to  this  hardy  race  its 
old  laws  and  equalities. 

Half  a  thousand  years  and  more  had  since  then 
elapsed.  The  people  did  homage  to  no  overlord  ; 
almost  every  village  had  its  own  petty  chieftain, 
who  built  to  himself  forts,  and  engaged  to  protect 
the  inhabitants  of  the  village.  But  then  these 
hovetlings  sought  to  outvie  each  other  in  power  and 
influence.  Troublous  times  ensued,  wherein  the 
strength  of  the  nation  was  exhausted  in  endless 
internal  feuds,  and  unfitted  for  presenting  a  victorious 
front  to  the  common  external  foe.  Chieftains  who 
were  on  terms  of  friendship  concluded  on  St. 
Martin's  Eve,  1430,  a  league  of  freedom,  under  the 
Upstallsboom,  and  chose  as  the  head  of  the  league 
the  son  of  that  noble  Enno  Cirksena,  who  had  himself 
declined  election  on  account  of  his  age.  It  was 
a  happy  choice.  Rapidly  had  the  family  of  the 
Cirksenas  risen  to  eminence  ;  prudent,  full  of  warm 
devotion  to  the  nation,  maintaining  and  defending 
its  rights  and  liberties,  they  had  thereby  at  the 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      223 

same  time  confirmed  the  authority  of  their  own  house, 
and  had  vanquished  or  paralysed  in  their  influence 
those  hovetlings  who  refused  to  bend  to  their 
commanding  power.  The  two  sons  of  the  venerable 
Enno,  Edzard  and  Ulric,  held  sway  in  succession  ; 
after  the  death  of  the  latter,  his  widow  Theda, — a 
grand-daughter  of  Foko  Ukena,  once  the  most 
powerful  opponent  of  the  old  Enno, — a  true  "  Frysan 
vife"  grasped  with  firm  masculine  hand  the  helm 
of  government  until  the  majority  of  her  son  Edzard. 
Theda,  the  highly  revered  mother  of  the  country, 
died  in  1494.  The  prelates  and  hovetlings  of  the 
land  assembled,  and,  with  the  approval  of  the 
popular  assemblies,  acknowledged  her  son  the  Count 
Edzard  as  regent.  For  upwards  of  thirty  years  the 
destinies  of  the  country  rested  in  his  hand,  and 
that  so  securely  and  prosperously  that  the  grateful 
people  styled  him  the  Great,  and  the  remembrance 
of  him  is  yet  cherished  in  the  land.  Strong  in  war, 
strong  in  peace,  he  was  ever  the  guardian  of  his 
people,  himself  a  genuine  Frieslander,  faithful, 
temperate,  prudent,  just,  full  of  glowing  love  of 
country,  devout  with  all  his  heart,  and  overflowing 
with  kindly  feeling,  even  towards  the  humblest  in 
the  land.  In  1528  he  fell  peacefully  asleep,  with 
the  words  of  Simeon  upon  his  dying  lips.  He  had 
in  believing  spirit  seen  the  Saviour,  as  He  was  made 
known  by  the  Reformation,  and  travelled  through 
the  German  land,  blessing,  pardoning.  Now  would 
he  as  His  servant  depart  in  peace.  His  son/f#;/0/7. 
succeeded  him  in  the  government,  not  like  the 
father  in  all  respects,  and  more  addicted  to  a  life  of 
pleasure  than  to  serious  labour  for  the  prosperity  of 
his  country.  For  the  troublous  times  in  which  his 


224  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

reign  of  ten  years  falls,  with  their  great  and  momen- 
tous demands,  he  was  hardly  adequate  ;  he  went  not 
to  work  with  certainty  and  with  readiness  for  self- 
sacrifice,  clearly  conscious  of  his  task,  and  from  his 
heart  devoted  to  it.  He  rather  suffered  things  to 
take  their  own  course,  and  that  to  happen  which  he 
was  too  indolent  and  too  indifferent  to  avert.  Thus 
his  people  had  many  heavy  taxes  imposed  upon 
them,  and  the  land  was  called  to  suffer  irreparable 
losses  :  it  had  become  a  battle-field  for  the  most 
diverse  views  ;  a  ferment  pervaded  all  ranks  of 
society,  and  it  was  felt  how  much  a  strong  hand  was 
wanting  to  curb  the  excited  spirits  in  this  time  of 
agitation,  and  to  lead  them  into  the  right  path.  In 
1540  Enno  died,  at  the  age  of  only  thirty-five,  just 
in  those  days  when  Laski  arrived  in  Emden.  His 
widow,  Countess  Anne,  of  the  house  of  Oldenburg, 
akin  to  the  energetic  Theda  in  more  than  one 
respect,  assumed  the  reins  of  government  as  guardian 
of  her  sons. 

The  free  and  indomitable  spirit  of  the  Frisian 
people  distinctly  appears  likewise  in  its  religious  life. 
It  i£  a  devout  people,  which  bows  before  its  God  in 
heaven,  but  is  little  disposed  to  bring  its  neck  under 
human  ordinances.  At  the  threshold  of  its  history 
stands,  in  strongly  outlined  form,  its  king  Radbod. 
Against  Charles  Martel  he  had  valiantly  defended 
the  liberties  of  his  people,  but  the  superiority  of 
force  was  too  great  ;  the  Prankish  duke  vanquished 
the  Frisian  king.  With  the  victor  the  missionaries 
had  entered  the  land,  the  hero-forms,  to  be  looked 
upon  as  messengers  of  the  Lord  Himself.  The  con- 
quered Radbod  had  to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  the 
Cross,  and  finally  became  willing  to  undergo  baptism. 


AT  THE  GOAL  AV  EAST  FRIESLAND.      225 

Already  he  is  standing  in  the  river  to  receive  the 
consecration,  when  the  Frisian  king  asks  the  bishop, 
"  Where  may  my  ancestors  be  ?  In  heaven  or  in 
hell  ?  "  "  Thy  ancestors  died  as  heathen,  and  are 
consequently  all  gone  down  to  hell."  In  perverse 
mood  Radbod  came  up  out  of  the  water,  and  said, 
"  Then  I  will  sooner  be  with  my  own  kinsmen  in 
hell,  than  with  the  few  Christians  in  heaven."  No 
subsequent  persuasion  could  induce  him  to  receive 
baptism. 

After  only  a  few  years  none  of  his  tribesmen 
could  any  longer  withstand  the  preaching  of  the 
Cross.  Already  an  old  man,  Winfrid  returned  to  the 
land  of  his  early  labours  ;  and  now  he  began  to 
accomplish  among  the  Frieslanders  that  wherein  in 
former  decades  he  had  not  been  able  to  succeed. 
Liudger  and  Willehad  were  disciples  of  Winfrid,  and 
themselves  sons  of  the  Frisian  people, — men  to  whom 
the  Christians  of  the  land  were  devotedly  attached  ; 
in  ever-gathering  hosts  the  people  came  forward  for 
baptism.  Once  become  Christian,  the  nation  clung 
with  piety  and  fidelity  to  its  faith  ;  hardly  anywhere 
did  heathendom  sink  into  so  dark  a  night  of  oblivion 
as  among  the  Frisians.  But  in  the  ecclesiastical 
province,  too,  the  people  made  its  peculiar  impress, 
and  through  the  centuries  defended  and  preserved 
its  rights.  There  was  no  episcopal  see  in  the  land  : 
one  half  of  the  country  was  under  the  pastoral  staff 
of  the  Bishop  of  Bremen,  the  other  under  that  of  the 
Bishop  of  Munster ;  any  influence  of  these  ecclesi- 
astical princes  upon  the  destiny  of  the  country  was 
not  perceptible.  To  the  demands  of  a  Gregory  VII. 
for  the  introduction  of  celibacy,  the  Frieslanders 
opposed  their  maxim,  "  The  priests  are  as  much 

IS 


226  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

men  as  we  are  ; "  and  even  the  papal  power  was 
frustrated  by  the  inflexible  will  of  the  people,  who 
would  suffer  no  priests  condemned  to  single  life  to 
be  forced  upon  them.  Of  the  storms  which  so  often 
agitated  to  its  depths  the  Church  in  Rome  and  in  its 
main  seats,  only  a  slight  surge  reached  the  distant 
coast  of  the  north,  and  the  minds  of  men  were 
hardly  stirred  by  it.  They  lived  on  after  the  godly 
manner  of  the  fathers  ;  here  and  there  in  the  land 
the  churches  rose  in  goodly  number,  and  presently 
also  the  cloisters.  To  these  mighty  stone  edifices 
alone  was  the  right  willingly  conceded  of  towering 
above  the  simple  dwellings  of  the  citizens  ;  for 
higher  than  the  Frieslander  may  only  his  God 
dwell. 

Things  became  changed  in  the  days  of  Luther. 
The  writings  of  the  German  Reformer  fell  betimes 
into  the  hands  of  the  vigorous  Count  Edzard  II.  ; 
and,  with  growing  pleasure  and  approval,  he  became 
charmed  with  the  pious,  daring  spirit  with  which, 
in  a  way  hitherto  unexpected,  he  was  there  brought 
into  contact.  The  fearless  manly  word  of  Luther 
rang  forth  so  bold  and  free,  as  though  it  had  been 
spoken  by  a  Frieslander.  The  Count  desired  of 
LutJter  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  In  the  land  itself 
the  fitting  and  qualified  personality  was  to  be  found — 
a  disciple  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Common  Life  in 
Zwolle,  Master  Aportanus.  He  did  not  stand  long 
alone.  In  the  most  diverse  places  of  the  land  a1 
longing  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  was  awak- 
ened ;  then  also  men  offered  themselves,  mostly 
liberal-minded  priests,  who  had  been  affected  in 
their  youth  by  the  teaching  of  the  Brothers  of  the 
Common  Life,  and  who  saw  in  the  new  movement 


AT  THE   GOAL   IX  EAST  FRIESLAND.      227 

the  realisation  of  that  for  which  they  had  once 
received  the  incitement  in  their  schools.  No  one 
as  yet  thought  of  a  separation.  It  might  happen 
that  the  pure  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  was  made 
from  the  pulpit  in  the  same  church  in  which,  an 
hour  earlier  or  later,  another  priest  would  read 
the  mass  at  the  altar.  The  heart  of  the  people, 
however,  turned  quickly  and  with  decision  from  the 
man  at  the  altar  to  the  man  in  the  pulpit,  and  to 
the  sacred  theme  of  his  preaching.  For  the  Frisian 
is  in  earnest  in  everything,  and  not  least  in  the 
domain  of  faith.  "  Friesland  does  not  sing "  is  a 
well-known  saying  ;  but  its  people,  of  robust  nature, 
firm  and  enduring,  courageous  and  active,  ponder 
over  the  highest  questions  of  life,  and  what  they 
have  extorted  therefrom  they  preserve,  like  their 
country,  against  every  foreign  power,  against  every 
threatening  billow.  Averse  to  all  outward  pageantry, 
in  the  church  as  elsewhere,  they  are  inclined,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  dwell  on  the  word  of  truth,  and  by 
it  to  be  led  to  repentance  and  the  forgiveness  of 
sins.  Their  reserved,  almost  inaccessible  nature,  as 
it  often  meets  us  under  the  weather-stained  forms 
in  the  marsh  lands,  retains  with  tenacious  fidelity 
that  which  it  has  acquired,  at  no  slight  cost,  even 
in  the  spiritual  domain. 

At  the  time  of  EdzarcTs  death  the  evangelical 
doctrine  had  been  diffused  throughout  the  whole 
land,  the  departing  Count  being  attached  to  it  in 
faithful  love.  Even  on  his  deathbed  he  exhorted 
his  sons  to  continue  in  this  doctrine.  His  successor 
kept  his  word.  In  the  carrying  of  it  out,  however, 
he  availed  himself  of  his  promise  mainly  in  order 
to  confiscate  the  abundant  possessions  of  the  cloisters, 


228  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

and  with  their  wealth  to  procure  for  himself  the 
gratifications  which  his  heart  desired.  He  acted 
in  many  cases  despotically  and  unjustly.  The  ill- 
favoured  traits  of  the  violent  movement  displayed 
themselves,  as  in  so  many  other  things,  in  the 
wrongful  encroachments  on  the  ecclesiastical  pos- 
sessions on  the  part  of  the  Frisian  landgrave.  But 
yet  the  whole  movement,  in  its  deepest  and  inner- 
most core,  was  too  pure  and  true  to  admit  of  being 
distorted  or  forced  into  a  misshapen  degeneracy  by 
such  acts  of  violence.  No,  not  in  Friesland  either. 

The  first  decisive  impulse  to  the  Reformation 
movement  in  these  Low  German  provinces,  too, 
had  unquestionably  been  given  by  the  earliest  and 
unique  Reformational  writings  of  Luther y  and  his 
bold  impetuous  confronting  of  kaiser,  and  empire, 
and  pope,  so  heroically  free,  in  submission  only 
to  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord.  But  the  impulse  given 
did  not  in  East  Friesland  continue  to  bind  itself 
closely  and  slavishly  to  the  giant  form  of  the 
German  Reformer.  The  free  Frisian  likes  to  walk 
in  his  own  ways  ;  the  well-nigh  overpowering  influ- 
ence of  the  Wiltenberger  was  broken  beyond  the 
Weser  and  the  Ems. 

In  the  case  of  the  Magister  Aportanus,  too,  whose 
mighty  personality  decidedly  impressed  upon  his  land 
the  stamp  of  its  theological  bent  and  bias,  there 
are  early  manifest — in  part  because  he  was  himself 
a  genuine  Frieslander — views  upon  the  one  decisive 
point  which  Luther  would  have  already  rejected 
without  hesitation  as  erroneous  doctrine  of  the 
Sacramentarians.  As  early  as  1526  the  preacher 
in  Emden  writes  such  sentences  as  this :  "  God, 
who  has  always  enabled  us  to  bear  in  memory  His 


AT  THE  GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      229 

great   works    and   wondrous    deeds   by   means   of  a 
sign  or  seal,  has  given  to  us  Christians  baptism  and 
the  Supper,  as   He  gave  to   Noah  the  rainbow,  to 
Abraham    circumcision,    to    the    children    of    Israel 
the  eating  of  the  paschal  lamb.      As  those  are  only 
sign  and  seal,  so  also  baptism  and   bread  and  wine 
are  not    the  Divine  purification   and    sanctification, 
but  only   certain   and   infallible   signs   and    seals   on 
the   part  of  God   regarding   the   things   mentioned. 
.  .  .  To  know  Christ  and   to  receive  Him  with  the 
whole  heart  through  faith,  that  is  truly  to  drink  His 
blood    and    truly    to   eat    His    flesh.      Inasmuch    as 
Christ  is  corporeally  in   heaven  at  the   right  hand 
of  His  heavenly  Father,  so   He  is  not  corporeally, 
but  spiritually,  present  in  the  bread."      What  Apor- 
tanus  taught  in  this  form  in  Emden,  that  in  Norden 
his  brave  companion  in  the  faith  and  conflict,  Hein- 
rich  Rese,   in    1527,   composed    and    sang    in    that 
spiritual    song   which    quickly   passed    from    mouth 
to  mouth,  in  which  it  is  said  : — "  Faith  is  the  true 
eating  ; — Else  we    may  not  suppose — To  enjoy  in 
a     bodily     wise — Such     wholesome     meat. — Faith 
receiveth   Christ    Himself — And   all    that    He    hath 
for  us  done, — His  flesh  and  blood,   His  body  and 
soul, — Yea,  in  Him  God  Himself  altogether."  *      But 
that  is  the  loud  echo,  far  in  the  north,  of  the  doctrine 
of  Zwingli  ;   it  encountered  opposition,   as   well   on 
the    Romish    side    as    on    the    part    of   evangelical 
preachers  who  attached  themselves  more  closely  to 
Lut/ter ;   yet  it  comes  out  victoriously  and    clearly 
in    the     earliest    Confession    of    Faith,    which     the 
evangelical  preachers  issued    immediately  after   the 

*  Cornelius,    Der  Anteil   Ostfrieslands  an  der  Ref.  bis 
zum  y.  1535  (printed  for  private  circulation),  p.  20. 


23o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

death  of  Count  Edzard  (1528),*  to  which   there  was 
appended  in  the  same  year  a  detailed  explanation. 

In  accordance  with  the  sense  of  freedom  on  the 
part  of  its  inhabitants,  Friesland  soon  became  the 
asylum  of  all  those  persecuted  for  their  faith's  sake 
in  the  neighbouring  States.  The  influx  was  very 
considerable.  The  little  country  contained  a  motley 
array  of  persons  representing  the  most  diverse 
religious  views,  in  those  days  a  unique  phenomenon 
as  though  there  by  the  sea  an  island  had  arisen 
with  laws  such  as  have  elsewhere  been  established 
only  within  the  most  recent  times.  From  the 
Netherlands  the  adherents  of  the  Evangelical  Church 
flocked  in  to  the  hospitable  harbour  of  freedom  of 
conscience.  Amongst  them,  and  mingled  with  them, 
came  also  the  Anabaptists — Heinrich  Niclaes  here 
carried  on  his  practices  for  a  time,  then  again  David 
Joris  ;  everywhere  persecuted,  Carlstadt  reposed  here 
a  while  :  a  real  rendezvous  of  the  most  manifold 
enthusiasts.  Their  influence  failed  not  to  make 
itself  felt,  especially  under  the  rule  of  Enno,  who 
readily  let  things  take  their  course.  From  Bremen 
had  come  preachers  who  thought  they  could  oppose 
a  barrier  to  the  rising  disorder  by  a  close  and  exclu- 
sive adhesion  to  the  doctrines  of  Luther  ;  but  the 
community  rose  indignantly  against  such  demand. 
Nor  did  laws  of  government,  framed  in  accordance 
with  the  Marburg  Articles,  prove  of  great  avail, 
specially  inasmuch  as  no  obedience  was  yielded  to 


*  On  the  origin  of  this  important  confessional  writing  see 
Emmius,  Rerum  Frisicaritm  Historia  (Lugd.  Bat.,  1616),  p. 
346.  The  Confession  itself,  with  its  thirty-three  articles,  is 
printed  in  Meiners,  Oostvries lands  Kerkelijke  Geschie- 
denisse  (Gron.,  1783),  i.,  p.  53. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      231 

them  elsewhere.  Then  the  attempt  was  made  by 
the  Count,  a  few  years  later,  to  obtain  the  ascend- 
ency for  Lutheranism  by  the  agency  of  certain 
Luneburg  preachers.  Equally  in  vain.  As  early  as 
1538  the  supposed  deliverers  were  obliged  to  quit 
the  land  ;  all  their  endeavours,  supported  as  they 
were  by  the  power  of  authority,  were  rendered 
ineffectual  by  the  free  sentiment  of  the  people.  But 
the  confusion  likewise  increased  to  an  alarming 
extent ;  no  one  proved  strong  enough  to  restore 
order  and  give  peace  to  the  land. 

Such  was  the  state  of  East  Friesland  when  John  a 
Lasco  crossed  over  from  Groningen,  here  in  quiet 
to  live  in  the  midst  of  his  studies. 

I.    THE    WAITING    TIME. 

-  It  must  have  been  in  the  latter  autumn  of  1540 
that  our  friend,  weary  of  the  rising  persecution  in 
Louvain  and  the  whole  domains  of  the  regent  of  the 
Netherlands,  longing  for  repose  to  live  in  accord- 
ance with  the  promptings  of  his  faith,  sought  the 
friendly  shelter  of  the  Frisian  land. 

Emden  was  not  in  those  days  an  inviting  place 
of  residence.  The  sea  washed  right  up  to  the  town 
wall  ;  and  in  the  chill  autumn  storms,  the  murky 
winter  nights,  the  swelling  flood  dashed  angrily 
against  the  town.  Damp  and  raw  hung  the  mists 
over  the  low-lying  lands.  The  narrow  streets,  the 
little  modest  dwelling-houses,  hardly  afforded  suffi- 
cient shelter  to  the  inhabitants,  steeled  as  they  were 
from  childhood  to  all  such  discomforts  of  rude 
climate ;  altogether  inhospitable  must  they  appear 
to  a  stranger,  especially  to  a  Pole,  used  to  the 
comforts  of  the  patrician  houses  in  Cracow.  When, 


232  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

in  the  present  day,  we  pass  through  the  clean, 
spruce,  albeit  somewhat  quiet  streets  of  Emden,  we 
feel  as  though  the  town  had  fallen  into  a  sleep  of 
three  hundred  years,  and  we  were  passing  through 
the  very  streets  which  Laski  once  trod.  If  this  had 
been  so,  we  should  have  to  describe  the  houses  as 
more  habitable.  But  the  aspirations  for  greater 
refinement,  of  which  the  eloquent  witnesses  greet  us 
in  the  ancient  mansions,  and  particularly  in  the 
graceful  town  house,  arose  only  in  the  second 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century  ;  and  were,  in  no  small 
measure,  the  consequence,  as  also  grateful  fruit,  of 
that  spirit  which  Laski  ever  toiled  mightily  to 
enkindle.  For  by  Laski  was  the  fair  seal  more 
deeply  impressed  upon  Emden  of  being  the  asylum 
of  those  persecuted  for  their  faith's  sake  ;  and  the 
fugitive  Netherlanders  and  Englishmen  abundantly 
repaid  such  right  of  sanctuary  by  their  diligence 
and  activity. 

The  means,  likewise,  of  our  exile  seem  to  have 
been  at  that  time  too  scanty  for  protecting  himself 
by  greater  conveniences  against  the  stress  of  wind 
and  weather.  He  has  written  home  to  have  his 
collection  of  books  forwarded  by  way  of  Frankfort 
to  him  at  Emden,  and  now  sends  to  his  friend  in 
Aduard  a  list  of  his  d-uplicates  for  the  supplementing 
of  the  copious  library  of  the  monastery,  with  a  view 
at  the  same  time  of  defraying  from  the  proceeds  his 
expenses  of  living.  Towards  the  inhabitants  of 
Emden  his  relation  was  that  of  a  stranger.  To  the 
educated  among  them  he  could  easily  make  himself 
intelligible  in  the  mother-tongue  of  the  Humanists  ; 
from  the  people,  however,  he  was  separated,  as  by 
an  impassable  gulf,  by  that  Low  German  (Dutch) 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      233 

language,  sounding  so  entirely  different  from  that 
which  he  had  acquired  of  the  German  language  in 
Basle.  But  it  was  a  people  here  in  Friesland  that 
could  not,  like  a  race  of  Polish  kmetons,  be  passed 
aside  unregarded  ;  nor  certainly  would  Laski  now 
wish  so  to  slight  them. 

To  all  these  difficulties  in  the  way  of  becoming  at 
home  in  this  rude  and  uninviting  region  there  was 
added,  in  the  case  of  our  friend,  that  of  a  painful 
physical  disorder.  We  have  to  think  of  him  in 
this  respect  as,  like  Paul,  having  a  thorn  in  the 
flesh,  may  also  regard  him  as  otherwise  resembling 
that  great  Apostle,  who  had  learnt  in  the  school  of 
suffering  and  in  the  instruction  of  the  Gospel,  that 
the  grace  of  his  Lord  was  sufficient  for  him.  Even 
the  first  reports  which  we  heard  concerning  Laski  in 
Bologna  lead  us  to  infer  a  delicate  state  of  health, 
such  as  to  cause  anxiety  to  his  immediate  friends. 
During  the  last  thirteen  years  of  his  life  in  his 
own  land  he  had  been  physically  well.*  But 
now,  in  the  cold,  damp,  low-lying  lands,  the  attacks 
of  ague  had  returned  with  renewed  violence.  Food 
to  which  he  was  not  accustomed  had  deranged  his 
stomach,  which  suffered  the  more  from  the  remedies 
prescribed  to  him  by  the  physicians.  Continued 
vomiting  tortures  the  sufferer  ;  the  short  journey  to 
the  church  suffices  well-nigh  to  exhaust  him  ;  if  he 
reads  only  a  little,  a  dimness  comes  over  his  eyes  ; 
a  few  lines  of  a  letter  cost  him  a  day  of  pain.  Yet  all 
this  discomfort  wrung  from  him  no  single  murmur. 
"To  God  be  the  glory,  who  is  reminding  me  in 
grace  by  such  bodily  admonitions  of  my  guilt  and 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  552. 


234  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

obligation  to  Him."  He  already  thought  he  would 
have  to  yield  to  the  urgent  exhortations  of  his  friends 
and  to  leave  Emden.  But  the  winter  passed  away, 
and  spring  brought  improvement  ;  he  determined 
to  remain.  He  had  become  attached  to  the  place  ; 
here  he  had  found  what  he  sought, — a  quiet  retreat, 
where  he  could  unmolested  devote  himself  to  his 
studies. 

It  is  unfortunately  not  permitted  us  to  obtain 
a  glimpse  of  his  course  of  study  during  the  quiet 
year  which  followed.  We  see  only  that  new  works 
of  importance  in  the  theological  domain  do  not  long 
escape  his  attention.  He  commends  on  one  occasion 
the  vigorous  language  of  Melanchthoris  tractate, 
which  appeared  in  1539, — "The  principal  [fur- 
nembste]  difference  between  pure  Christian  doctrine 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  idolatrous  papistical  doctrine," 
— a  production  which,  as  he  tells  his  friend  in  the 
cloister,  has  been  read  with  the  most  lively  interest 
by  the  Emperor  himself,  and  wherein,  with  admirable 
brevity  and  condensation,  Melanchthon  has  touched 
upon  the  main  articles  of  the  faith.  From  his 
distant  watchtower  by  the  sea  Laski  followed  the 
progress  of  events  in  the  ecclesiastical  world.  It 
was  then  the  order  of  the  day  to  treat  of  the  most 
difficult  and  obscure  questions  of  theology  in  lengthy 
deliberations.  He  who  should  wish  to  follow  the 
course  of  such  a  discussion  merely  as  an  event  of  the 
day  would  be  insensibly  placed  in  presence  of  the 
most  important  problems,  and  involuntarily  called 
upon  to  furnish  a  solution  of  them.  How  much 
more  so  our  friend,  whose  serious  studies  con- 
tinually urged  him,  for  his  own  enlightenment  and 
confirmation  in  the  faith,  to  labour  on  the  answering 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      235 

of  the  questions  raised.  In  November,  1540,  de- 
puties from  the  different  States  had  assembled  for 
conference  at  Worms.  Ranke  calls  attention  to  the 
extraordinary  fact  that  in  this  instance  the  representa- 
tives of  the  papacy  were  divided  in  opinion  ;  those 
of  Protestantism,  on  the  other  hand,  were  at  one.* 
The  Wittenberg  Concord  as  yet  cemented  the  minds 
together  ;  Calvin  and  Melanchthon,  both  present,  were 
united  in  intimate  confidence.  The  main  question 
turned  upon  the  point  of  ecclesiastical  law  which 
of  the  two  Churches  abides  in  the  fellowship  of  the 
true  and  ancient  Church,  and,  consequently,  which 
has  a  right  to  lay  claim  to  the  title  of  Catholic.  The 
question  must  exert  a  powerful  attraction  upon 
Laski,  and  urge  him  to  studies  of  which  the  results 
appear  in  the  important  labours  of  after-days.  This 
conference  at  Worms  was  followed,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  subsequent  year,  by  a  Conference  on  Religion, 
held  at  Ratisbon,  the  latter  in  presence  of  the 
Emperor  himself.  For  years  the  two  Churches  had 
not  approached  each  other  in  so  conciliatory  a  spirit 
as  here.  The  Granvellas  and  Contarinis  on  the  one 
hand,  the  Bucers  and  MelancJitlions  on  the  other,  were 
inclined  to  concessions  which,  in  the  present  day,  would 
have  carried  the  one  to  the  bench  of  the  Old  Catholics, 
the  other  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Central  Party.  On 
that  side  they  were  willing  to  leave  the  marriage 
of  the  priesthood  an  open  question  so  far  as  Germany 
was  concerned,  and  in  like  manner  the  concession 
of  the  cup  to  the  laity  ;  on  this  side  some  of  the 
princes  were  not  disinclined  under  certain  conditions 
to  acknowledge  the  primacy  of  the  Pope.  Nay,  even 

*  Ranke,  Deutsche  Gesch.  im  Zeitalter  der  Reformation 
(Berl.,  1852),  iv.,  p.  156. 


236  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

as  regards  the  vital  point  of  the  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion, there  fell  from  the  lips  of  Contarini  and  those 
of  kindred  spirit  utterances  which  must  be  character- 
ised as  not  widely  removed  from  the  doctrine  of 
the  Gospel.  On  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation 
first  became  again  glaringly  apparent  the  opposition, 
which  could  not  be  concealed  ;  and  the  rift,  once 
opened,  became  ever  wider.  Not  even  this  Con- 
ference on  Religion  had  attained  the  object  for 
the  bringing  about  of  which  both  sides  had  shown 
the  most  considerate  readiness.  An  accommoda- 
tion of  the  differences  was  no  longer  possible. 

To  our  friend,  in  his  distant  asylum,  this  conference, 
too,  of  which  the  intelligence  spread  so  quickly 
through  Germany,  brought  with  it  the  necessity  of 
submitting  all  the  points  of  division  once  more  to 
the  most  earnest  examination  before  the  bar  of 
his  own  conscience.  The  decision  could  not  be 
doubtful.  The  result  was  for  him  a  yet  more 
decided  severance  from  the  Romish  Church,  a  yet 
more  powerful  emphasising  of  the  Protestant  stand- 
point. 

The  more  strongly  and  decisively  the  emphasising 
of  Protestantism  manifested  itself  with  Laski,  the 
more  urgent  was  he,  with  his  friend  in  the  cloister, 
to  come  to  decision.  Laski  must  have  orally  called 
upon  his  friend  to  depart ;  Hardenberg  still  hesi- 
tated, but  the  sting  against  which  it  was  vain  to 
strive  had  already  been  implanted  in  his  soul  by 
A  Lasco.  "  That  which  you  write  concerning  shame, 
pain,  grief,  and  all  the  wretchedness  that  constantly 
tortures  you,  how  in  all  the  world  shall  I  believe 
that,  since  you  yourself  assert  that  Christ  un- 
questionably approves  of  the  reasons  for  your  inten- 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      237 

tion  ?  In  presence  of  Him  you  are  thus  sure  of  your 
cause  ;  but  in  presence  of  me  you  blush  and  torment 
yourself.  What,  am  I  then  greater  than  He  ?  He 
who  sanctifies  his  repose  in  Christ  can  no  longer 
be  deprived  of  it  by  men.  .  .  .  You  reject  the  example 
of  Hezekiah,  as,  on  account  of  the  difference  of 
position,  foreign  to  your  office.  But  what  he,  the 
guardian  of  the  outward  discipline,  did  with  the 
iron,  that  you  must  do  in  your  lectures,  not  with 
vague  general  reproaches,  but  with  that  extra- 
ordinary hammer  which  smites  even  the  rocks.  It 
is  the  task  of  a  theologian  to  admonish  every  one 
of  his  guilt  and  duty.  If  your  superiors  will  yield 
no  obedience  to  the  admonition,  nay,  if  they  will 
not  suffer  you  to  admonish,  if  they  compel  you  to 
suppress  it  and  to  dissemble,  and  you  yield  to  them, 
is  that  to  reprove  with  boldness  ?  Nor  do  you 
rightly  compare  Babylon  with  Babylon.  For  we 
have  no  idol  which  we  worship  ;  but  you  \t.c.t  the 
Romanists]  worship  as  God  that  abomination  which 
you  set  up  in  the  holy  place  in  public  worship,  and 
are  the  servants  of  such  idolatry.  If  some  idols 
have  still  remained  with  us,  they  lie  there  publicly 
despised  and  neglected.  For  what  drawing  of  the 
Spirit  you  are  still  waiting  I  know  not.  I  believe 
that  it  is  the  Spirit  of  God  who  says  (Isa.  Hi.  1 1  ; 
2  Cor.  vi.  1 7),  '  Come  out  from  among  them,  and 
be  ye  separate.'  And  the  same  Spirit  speaks  a  like 
word  in  the  Revelation  (xviii.  4),  '  Come  out  of  her, 
My  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  sins.' 
If  you  refer  this  to  the  spiritual  flight,  it  is  certain 
that  he  who  has  once  truly  in  spirit  thus  pondered 
on  this  flight  will  not  still  cleave  to  those  whom  he 
sees  continually  dishonouring  the  virtue  and  merit 


238  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  Christ  As  for  myself,  I  love  you,  my  Albert, 
as  ever ;  but  your  dilatoriness  I  do  not  love."  * 

This  is  the  honest,  manly  language  of  a  true 
soldier  of  Christ,  who  is  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel, 
but  boldly  confesses  the  Lord  without  disguise,  and 
with  joyful  resolution  has  for  His  sake  severed 
every  bond  which  could  enchain  him  to  the  world, 
to  feel  himself  held  henceforth  only  by  that  one 
bond  which  links  the  redeemed  and  liberated  soul 
to  its  Saviour.  Thus,  as  entirely  separated  and 
inexorably  resolved,  Laski  would  not  yet  have 
expressed  himself  while  in  the  circle  of  the  Bible- 
readers  at  Louvain  ;  with  rapid  strides  he  presses 
forward  upon  the  career,  forgetting  those  things 
which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forward  to  that 
which  is  before,  recognising  his  strength  to  lie  in 
the  fact  that  he  has  been  apprehended  of  Christ. 

And  he  rests  not  till  he  has  forced  the  lingering 
friend  to  the  like  momentous  step.  Hardenberg 
brings  forward  a  number  of  difficulties,  which  show 
the  severe  conflict  through  which  his  soul  was 
passing  ;  t  in  the  letter  just  cited  we  have  indeed 
the  refutation  of  single  points,  which  the  oral 
converse  in  Emden  had  perhaps  not  fully  cleared 
up.  Hardenberg  may  have  seen  in  the  church  at 
Emden  the  images  of  the  saints,  which  had  not 
yet  been  put  away  ;  hence  the  doubt  whether  the 
change  would  not  be,  after  all,  a  passing  from  one 
Babylon  to  another  Babylon — a  doubt  so  easily 
arising  in  one  who  was  hesitating.  The  interchange 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  557. 

t  The  library  of  Munich  contains  the  interesting  MS.  in 
Hardenberg' s  own  handwriting.  Spiegel  (p.  27)  reproduces 
it  in  a  condensed  form. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAS2   FRIESLAND.      259 

of  letters  is  continued  through  a  period  of  some 
months ;  it  is  an  affecting  conflict  which  Laski 
unremittingly  wages  with  his  friend. 

The  lingering  Hardenberg  could  not  in  the  long 
run  withstand  this  manly  and  pressing  urgency. 
It  is  true  it  was  only  in  the  spring  of  1543  that 
the  monk  in  his  Bernardin  cowl  knocked  at  the 
door  of  Laski.  The  monk's  garb  was  here  put 
aside  and  laid  up,  and  Laskts  wife  took  care  that 
the  moths  should  not  consume  the  woollen  garment.* 
From  Emden  Hardenberg  very  soon  went  on  to 
Wittenberg,  to  establish  himself  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  Evangelical  Church  under  the  oversight  of 
MelanchtJwn.  An  intimate  relation  of  friendship 
quickly  united  the  two  men,  who  were  more 
spiritually  akin  to  each  other  than  was  the  case 
with  the  resolute,  vigorous,  uncompromising  Pole. 

Nor  were  the  nunneries  of  this  period  more 
favourably  judged  of  by  our  Laski,  not  even  those 
of  the  mildest  ritual,  such  as  we  meet  with  in 
the  Beguine  houses  of  that  day  on  the  Lower 
Rhine — communities  whose  members,  without  any 
kind  of  vows  binding  them  for  life,  led  in  ordinary 
houses  a  devout  life,  in  simple  unpretentious 
domestic  order.  In  the  neighbouring  Groningen 
there  lived  in  the  first  residence  of  the  Beguines 
the  daughter  of  an  ancient  and  distinguished 
Groningen  family  as  a  domicella  mantellata — i.e.,  one 
belonging  to  the  leading  division  of  the  house — 
the  intellectual,  pious  Gertrude  Syssinge.  Laski 
had  formed  her  acquaintance,  and  was  in  epistolary 
correspondence  with  her, — a  correspondence  which 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  577. 


24o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

the  educated  Beguine  knew  how  to  conduct  in  the 
Latin    language,  while    at    the    same    time   so   well 
versed   in    domestic    labours   that    her    spindle    and 
loom  were   no    strange    occupation  to    her.     Laski 
urges    upon    her   too    to    quit     the    community    in 
which   she    lives ;   his   house   in    Emden    shall  be  a 
place  of  refuge  for  her.     More  instant  becomes  the 
pressure    as    the    din    of  war   threatens  to   advance 
to  Groningen.     "  God  will  not  forsake  thee,  wherever 
thou    art,    if  thou    wilt    only   follow    Him  in    truth 
and  with  thy  whole  heart  ;  and   I  doubt  not  of  thy 
willingness.      I  will  not  fail  of  affording  thee  a  stout 
protection  in  the  time  of  need."      In  a  further  letter  * 
we  meet  with  yet  more  urgent  language  :  "  Though  I 
cannot,  and  will  not,  be  lord  and  judge  of  another's 
conscience,  yet  I  do  not  comprehend  how  any  one 
who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  knows  the 
mysteries  of  ungodliness  in  the  convents,  can  justify 
his   conscience    before    God    if  he    remains    in    the 
midst  of  those  of  whom  he  daily  sees  and  hears  that 
the  merits  and  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are 
dishonoured  by  them."     The  ultimate  decision  was 
longer  delayed  in  the  case  of  our  Beguine  than  in 
that    of   the    Bernardin    monk    of   the    convent    of 
Aduard  ;    many    a  devious    step,   which   cannot  be 
followed  by  us  here,  was  made  with  hesitating  foot 
by  the  maiden  before  she  quitted  the  threshold  of 
the  cloister  for  ever.     Those  who  in  their  convent 
days  had  not  been  far  from  each  other  now  found 
themselves  for  the  rest  of  their  lives  united  under 
the  same  roof:  in    1547   Hardenberg  led  home  his 


*  Kuyper,    ii.    562.    See    the    whole    history    in    Spiegel, 
Hardenberg,  pp.  91 — 105. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IX  EAST  FRfESLAXD.      241 


"  Trutfe"  :    as    companion   for    life    to    his    Bremen 
pastorate. 

The  two  years  of  waiting  which  passed  away  in 
Emden  before  La  ski  obeyed  the  call  to  throw 
himself  with  vigour  and  decision  into  the  course  of 
events  did  not  flow  on  so  smoothly  and  quietly  as 
he  may  well  have  wished.  Visits  were  made  from 
time  to  time  to  the  neighbouring  border  district 
of  the  Netherlands.  A  brief  stay  in  Amsterdam 
brought  him  many  a  tempting  offer.  A  journey  to 
his  old  home-land,  the  beloved  Poland,  falls  likewise 
within  this  time  of  waiting.  The  occasion  is  a 
painful  one.  A  few  years  before  this,  the  important 
action  of  his  renowned  brother  Jerome  and  his  tragic 
experiences  had  already  produced  a  deep  effect 
upon  the  life  of  our  friend  :  we  remember  with  what 
unflagging  zeal  our  Johannes  had  set  all  things  in 
movement  until  he  had  freed  his  beloved  brother 
from  the  disgraceful  bonds  into  which  the  aspirant 
to  the  throne  of  Hungary  had  cast  him.  This 
shameful  treatment  on  the  part  of  one  for  whom 
he  had  sacrificed  everything,  and  who  owed  almost 
everything  to  him,  had  driven  the  deeply  injured  Pole 
into  the  camp  of  the  other  pretender.  His  whole 
endeavour  was  henceforth  directed  to  obtaining  at 
last  healing  and  peace  for  the  fair  Hungarian  land, 
bleeding  as  it  was  from  a  thousand  wounds.  And 
he  honestly  worked  to  that  end.  Kaiser  diaries 
himself  bears  witness  in  a  letter  to  Jerome,  which  is 
still  preserved, f  what  an  essential  part  Laski  had 

*  Thus  the  Christian  name  Gertrude  appears  in  its  local 
colouring  in  the  pnly  address  of  a  letter  which  is  preserved  ;  in 
the  Latin  letters  Laski  himself  always  calls  his  friend  Drusilla. 

t  Printed  in  the  Kerkhistorisch  A r chief  ( Amsterdam,  1855). 
p.  171. 

16 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


taken  in  putting  an  end  to  the  conflict  of  years 
between  the  two  claimants  to  the  throne,  and  in 
the  concluding  of  the  peace  between  Ferdinand  and 
Zapolya.  This  peace  had  been  effected  without 
the  knowledge  or  consent  of  Soliman.  No  one  but 
Laski  was  thought  sufficiently  adroit,  and  at  the 
same  time  courageous  enough,  to  go  to  Constantinople 
and  communicate  the  tidings  to  the  redoubtable 
Soliman.  The  valiant  Pole  undertook  the  embassy 
at  the  peril  of  his  life.  He  fearlessly  braved  the 
insults  of  the  enraged  Sultan  ;  war  was  declared, 
Laski  imprisoned  ;  his  nose  and  ears  were  to  be  cut 
off.  A  fortunate  accident  alone  preserved  him  from 
this  horrible  mutilation,  and  opened  to  him  the 
possibility  of  return.*  So  great  and  unselfish  was 
the  devotion  of  the  Pole  to  the  welfare  of  Hungary, 
that,  despite  the  danger  to  which  he  had  just  been 
exposed,  he  declared  himself  ready  in  the  following 
year  (1540)  to  return  to  the  den  of  the  lion  on  a 
new  and  equally  perilous  embassy.  What  gave  rise 
to  his  second  journey  was  this  :  Zapolya  had  died 
(at  the  age  of  fifty-three)  ;  a  few  weeks  before  his 
death  his  youthful  wife,  Isabella,  the  beautiful  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Poland,  had  presented  him  with  a  son. 
This  birth  kindled  afresh  the  old  desire  for  the 
government  on  the  part  of  a  few  of  those  who  had 
remained  faithful,  and  led  to  their  forgetting  the 
definite  arrangements  made  in  the  treaty  of  peace. 
A  messenger  hastened  to  Constantinople  to  place 
the  heir  lately  born  under  the  protection  of  Soliman  ; 
Laskt's  difficult  task  was  favourably  to  incline  the 
Sultan  towards  King  Ferdinand.  If  the  Hapsburger 

*  Compare  Hammer,  Gesch.  des  Osmanischen  Reiches  (Pest, 
1834),  ii.,  p.  167. 


AT  THE   GOAL   AV  EAST  FRIES  LAND.      243 


had  only  waited,  before  declaring  hostilities  against 
Isabella,  until  Laski  had  accomplished  his  mission, 
and  had  found  time  to  escape  the  talons  of  the 
dangerous  adversary !  The  courageous  fidelity  of 
the  messenger  would  have  well  deserved  such  con- 
sideration. As  it  was,  the  attack  upon  the  widow, 
who  had  placed  herself,  with  her  son,  under  the 
protection  of  the  Sultan,  only  kindled  the  fury  of 
the  wild  victor,  who  looked  upon  himself  as  master 
of  Hungary.  War  was  declared  against  Ferdinand  ; 
the  first  consequence  was  the  imprisonment  of  the 
ambassador.  Even  the  enemy  respected  the  daring 
man,  and  esteemed  his  great  ability.  A  high 
position  was  offered  the  captive  if  lie  would  enter 
the  service  of  the  Sultan  ;  but  Laski  was  no 
renegade,  nor  was  he  a  hireling  who  places  his 
sword  and  pen  at  the  disposal  of  any  one  for  office 
and  honour.  He  continued  steadfast  through  the 
whole  winter  of  I  540  41.  The  brother  in  the  distant 
Emden  seems  to  have  heard  nothing  thereof  in 
those  days  ;  he  supposes  him  to  be  in  the  vicinity 
of  Ferdinand*  Slowly  the  winter  passed  away 
for  the  captive,  who  was  shut  up  in  the  house  of 
the  Grand  Vizier,  and  only  allowed  to  attend  mass 
on  Sundays  at  the  church  of  the  Greek  patriarch.t 
In  the  middle  of  June,  1541,  Soliman  at  last 
entered  upon  the  war  against  Hungary  ;  his  savage 
hordes  poured  forth  as  a  devastating  flood  over 
the  land,  destroying  everything  where  they  settled. 
The  poor  captive  was  dragged  with  them  as  far 
as  Belgrade.  There  in  sickness  he  pined  in  the 
dungeon,  while  Soliman  entered  Ofen  (Buda)  as 
victor.  He  had  set  out  unwillingly  from  Belgrade, 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  554.  t  Hammer,  ii.  169. 


244  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

for  he  had  received  tidings  that  the  two  ambassa- 
dors despatched  to  him  by  Francis  I.  had  been 
treacherously  assassinated  on  the  Po,  by  bandits 
hired  for  that  purpose  by  the  Marquis  of  Gnasto. 
One  of  these  was  Rinqon,  the  friend  of  our  Laski 
in  earlier  days,  who  was  doomed  thus  pitiably  to 
end  his  life,  while  his  former  colleague  was  pining 
in  the  dungeons  of  Belgrade.*  When  S oilman 
returned  from  Oferi  to  Belgrade,  he  compassionately 
released  the  ambassador  of  his  lately  vanquished 
opponent.  Crushed  in  spirit,  worn  out  with  his 
imprisonment  and  with  sickness,  Laski  returned  to 
his  old  home  at  Cracow.  He  felt  the  approach  of 
death,  and  longed  to  converse  once  more  with  the 
beloved  brother,  f  Upon  the  receipt  of  the  melan- 
choly tidings,  Johannes  immediately  hastened  from 
Emden  to  be  present  at  the  deathbed  of  his  brother. 
Although  the  fact  of  his  marriage  and  his  entire 
secession  was  well  known  in  his  native  land,  no  one 
sought  to  hinder  his  crossing  the  frontier  and 
making  his  abode  beside  the  dying  man  whom  he 
had  come  to  tend.  The  malady  was  thought  to 
be  the  effect  of  a  slow  poison  administered  by 
Turkish  hands,  either  in  Constantinople  itself  or 
in  Belgrade,  out  of  fear  of  the  powerful  ambassador, 
in  order  by  such  a  cowardly  and  miserable  expe- 
dient to  put  him  out  of  the  way. 

How  gladly  would  we  have  listened  to  the  con- 
versation which  JoJiannes  held  with  his  dying  brother. 
More  than  one  indication  points  to  the  conclusion 
that  Jerome  was  not  far  from  the  Gospel  ;  and  had 

*  Hammer,  ii.,  p.  171  ;  cf.  Rapin,  Anno  1542,  vol.  vii.,  Bk.  15, 
IP-  613. 
t  Kuyper,  ii.  30,  "  ipso  id  [the  visit]  a  me  petente." 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      245 

only  a  favourable  destiny  afforded  him  greater 
opportunity  for  quiet  and  collectedness  of  mind,  he 
would  perhaps  have  taken  the  same  step  as  his 
brother.  Melanchthon  was  acquainted  with  the  influ- 
ential diplomatist,  and  is  said  to  have  delivered  an 
oration  over  him.*  Jerome  found  no  fault  with  his 
brother  either  on  account  of  his  marriage  or  of  his 
secession,  by  either  of  which  acts  he  had  forfeited 
all  present  position  in  his  native  land.  He  is  not 
opposed  to  a  post  in  a  foreign  land,  but  prays  him 
to  accept  such  post  only  on  condition  that,  should 
his  fatherland  have  need  of  him,  and  a  change  have 
ensued  in  the  ecclesiastical  situation  by  which  he 
was  free  to  live  at  home  in  accordance  with  his 
belief,  he  was  to  be  released  from  any  obligation 
into  which  he  had  entered,  and  then  once  more  to 
devote  his  energies  to  the  well-being  of  Poland. \ 
The  request  of  the  dying  man  coincided  with  his  own 
wishes,  with  his  ardent  love  of  the  fatherland,  a 
love  which  renders  more  significant  and  precious 
the  sacrifice  of  exile  for  his  faith's  sake. 

After  the  death  of  the  brother  our  Laski  did  not 
remain  much  longer  in  Cracow.  In  the  spring  of 
1542  he  is  already  at  Emden  again.  A  passing 
notice  in  a  letter  indicates  that  he  had  held  serious 
negotiations  with  the  bishops  of  his  native  land.]; 
It  was  his  intention  to  make  these  public  ;  unfor- 
tunately he  did  not  carry  this  intention  into  effect ; 
at  least,  up  to  the  present  time  no  MS.  having 


*  Gerdes,  Scrinium  Antiquarium  (Groningen,  without 
date),  p  486.  This  assertion  will  be  examined  in  the  sequel. 

t  Kuyper,  ii.  587,  588,  as  also  the  beautiful  passage  ii.  30, 
and  in  general  the  whole  letter  to  his  king. 

\  Ibid.,  ii.  556. 


246  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

reference  to  them  has  been  discovered.  A  Lasco 
supposes  that  the  subject  of  these  negotiations  would 
draw  forth  a  smile  from  his  friend  Hardenberg ;  at 
any  rate,  by  means  of  them  it  had  become  notorious, 
in  the  other  camp  also,  that  the  rupture  with  the  old 
Church  was  now  an  accomplished  fact.  This  rupture 
seems  to  have  had,  as  its  immediate  consequence,  the 
result  that  a  few  small  sources  of  income  which  till 
then  had  remained  to  him,  without  molestation  or 
curtailment,  were  henceforth  cut  off.  So,  at  least,  I 
am  inclined  to  explain  the  statement  of  the  unre- 
liable Walewski ;  the  dimensions  which  he  gives  to 
the  affair  are  altogether  exaggerated.* 

With  the  death  of  the  brother  a  strong  tie  which 
bound  him  to  his  native  land  was  broken.  The 
negotiations  with  the  Polish  bishops  would  suffice 
to  convince  him  that  no  way  was  yet  opened  to  the 
free  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  in  his  fatherland, 
and  only  on  this  condition  did  he  conceive  of  the 
possibility  of  returning.  He  laid  himself  out  for  a 
long  sojourn  in  a  foreign  land  ;  and,  after  all,  he  felt 
himself  at  home  by  this  time  in  the  kindly  spot  far 
away  in  the  north  upon  the  bleak  coast  of  the  sea. 
His  health  had  somewhat  improved,  and  was  better 
fitted  to  contend  with  the  inclemency  of  the  rude 
climate.  The  passion  for  active  labour  was  reviving. 
It  was  to  be  foreseen  from  the  first  that  a  nature  like 
that  of  our  friend  could  not  stand  long  idle  in  the 
market-place  once  he  had  inwardly  worked  his  way 
through  all  pressing  questions,  and  the  Lord  had 
given  him  the  stability  of  a  fixed  standpoint. 

And  he  was  not  called  to  stand  long  idle  ;  the 
Lord  had  need  of  him  as  a  chosen  vessel. 


*  Bibliutheca  (Warsaw,  1872)^.361. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  F-R1ESLAND.      2\j 

We  have  already  sought  to  present  in  broad  out- 
line a  description  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  East 
Friesland.  Count  Enno  had  been  cut  off  in  the  prime 
of  life  in  I  540  ;  his  widow,  the  Countess  Anne,  of  the 
house  of  Oldenburg,  had  entered  upon  the  government 
as  guardian  of  her  youthful  sons.  It  was  an  arduous 
and  venturesome  enterprise,  specially  for  a  woman, 
to  undertake  the  conduct  of  the  disordered  affairs 
of  the  land  at  such  a  troublous  time.  The  Countess 
Anne,  of  devout,  earnest  mind,  shrank  not  from  con- 
fronting the  difficulty  ;  in  firm  and  masculine  hand  she 
held  the  rein  like  that  The  da  who,  seventy  years 
before,  as  widow  of  Ulric  Cirksena,  had  ruled  over 
the  land  with  such  abundant  blessing  in  place  of  her 
sons,  not  yet  of  age.  The  labour  was  rendered  more 
difficult  to  Countess  Anne  by  reason  of  particular 
circumstances.  Her  brother-in-law,  Count  Jo/in,  a 
brother  of  the  late  regent,  demanded  guardianship  of 
the  nephews  during  their  minority,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that,  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage  with  a 
natural  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Maviinilian,\\c  had 
solemnly  renounced  for  himself  and  his  descendants 
the  right  of  succession  in  East  Friesland,  and  that 
under  letter  and  seal.  The  alliance  with  an  emperor's 
daughter  he  had  counted  worth  a  pitiable  relapse  into 
the  Church  of  Rome  ;  on  account  of  both  of  these 
recommendations  he  seemed  to  Charles  V.  worthy  of 
being  acknowledged  as  the  feudal  lord  of  the  pro- 
vince of  East  Friesland.  So  much  the  more  un- 
worthy was  he  counted  by  the  Frieslanders,  who  had 
already  promised  fidelity  to  the  widow  of  Count 
Enno  ;  with  heavy  sacrifices  of  money,  almost 
exceeding  the  resources  of  the  little  country,  ex- 
hausted as  it  was  by  the  many  wars  and  con- 


JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 


tributions,  they  sought  to  purchase  exemption  from 
the  burdensome  sway  of  the  regent  which  was  to  be 
imposed  on  them  by  force.  The  money,  indeed,  was 
absorbed  by  Count  John  ;  but  that  did  not  hinder 
him  from  keeping  a  jealous  eye  fixed  upon  the  land, 
and  unceasingly  directing  the  attention  of  the  ran- 
corous Kaiser  and  of  the  suspicious  regent  of  the 
Netherlands  to  this  little  corner  of  the  earth,  which 
in  those  days  possessed  the  fair  distinction  of  being 
an  asylum  for  all  those  persecuted  for  the  faith's 
sake.  It  was  well  that  the  Countess  possessed  in  her 
valiant  brother,  the  well-known  Count  Christopher  of 
Oldenburg,  a  faithful  adviser,  a  manly  protector.  He 
presented  a  bold  front  against  the  exorbitant  pre- 
tensions of  the  renegade,  behind  whom  stood,  as  an 
angry  thunder-cloud,  the  Emperor  himself. 

Count  Christopher  was,  like  his  sister,  attached  with 
all  his  heart  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation,  a  goodly 
heritage  of  their  pious  mother.  Both  recognised 
that  for  the  weal  of  the  cruelly  straitened  land  the 
lever  of  good  order  must  be  applied,  in  the  first 
instance,  in  the  ecclesiastical  domain.  The  Polish 
baron  dwelling  in  Emden  was  well  known  to  them  ; 
to  gain  him  on  behalf  of  the  Church  was  their  most 
zealous  endeavour.  A  new  preacher's  office  was  to 
be  founded  at  the  church  in  Emden.  Laski  declined 
the  offer,  pleading  his  defective  acquaintance  with  the 
language  of  the  country  ;  this  would  be  the  second 
refusal,  if  the  opinion  of  Emmius  could  be  sustained. 

In  the  place  of  him  Thomas  Bramius  was  chosen, 
an  able,  pious  person,  whom  our  friend  likewise 
esteemed.*  Count  Christopher  still  relaxed  not  in 

*  Emmius,  p.  916,  as  also  Meiners,  i.  218. 


AX  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      249 

his  efforts  to  gain  so  important  a  person  as  Laski  for 
his  Church.  On  his  advice  the  Countess  made  the 
proposal,  with  the  consent  of  the  leading  men  in 
Emden,  that  he  should  undertake  the  oversight  of  all 
the  churches  of  the  land  (e^opeiav  ecclesiarum  oinniinn 
totius  regionis).  Laski  thought  he  ought  no  longer  to 
withstand  this  third  call  ;  he  believed  he  now  heard 
the  voice  of  the  Lord.  He  declared  himself  ready  to 
undertake  the  arduous  office,  upon  the  condition  that 
as  well  the  Countess  as  the  whole  Church  should  be 
found  to  have  only  the  glory  of  God  in  view  in  the 
calling  of  him.*  This  took  place  in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1543,  "to  the  joy  of  all  the  well-disposed 
in  the  land,"  as  the  chronicler  observes. 

2.  THE  WORK  WITH  THE  SWORD  IN  THE  HAND. 

As  was  the  case  elsewhere,  so  was  it  also  in  East 
Friesland.  The  rupture  with  the  ancient  Church  was 
not  at  once  so  violent  and  striking  that  one  might 
draw  with  clearness  and  distinctness  the  boundary 
line  between  the  old  which  had  passed  away  and  the 
new  which  had  occupied  its  place.  It  happened 
not  rarely — and  we  could,  as  regards  Friesland,  prove 
this  by  examples — that  in  the  same  church  the  one 
preacher  proclaimed  the  Gospel  as  with  new  tongues, 
and  enthusiastically  unfolded  the  sacred  banner  of 
the  Reformation — our  righteousness  of  grace  alone, 
through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus — while  below  at 
the  altar,  after  as  before,  the  priest  read  his  tradi- 
tional mass,  which  ceased  only  when  no  one  was 
any  longer  found  ready  to  attend  its  performance. 
So  also  it  was  in  Emden.  For  two  decades  now  the 

*  Emmius,  p.  916. 


250  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

town  and  land  had  turned  to  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  ;  that,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  Franciscan 
monks  of  the  town — so  many  of  them  as  had 
remained  faithful  to  their  cloister — continuing  their 
ecclesiastical  occupations  according  to  the  ancient 
custom.  They  still  preached  among  themselves, 
they  baptised  children,  gave  the  last  unction  to  the 
dying,  preserved  and  tended  the  images  of  the  saints, 
exactly  as  though  the  whole  of  the  great  movement 
had  passed  over  them  without  a  trace.  And  there 
were  not  a  few  to  be  found  who  would  irresolutely 
leave  affairs  to  take  their  course,  and  would  retain 
this  strange  indecision,  this  double-tongued  procedure, 
but  only  to  the  damage  of  the  young  Evangelical 
Church,  as  was  now  seen.  Incited  by  the  Count  John, 
and  in  the  assured  sense  of  having  in  him  a  well- 
protected  stay,  the  monks  lifted  their  heads  some- 
what higher.  Of  that  which  had  been  tacitly 
overlooked  in  them  through  long  years  they  now 
boasted  as  a  right. 

The  new  superintendent  at  once  manfully  encoun- 
tered them  :  their  position  seemed  to  him  an 
anachronism.  He  forbade  to  them  preaching  and 
baptism,  and  issued  a  severe  injunction  that  the 
images  till  then  tolerated  in  the  Church  should  be 
removed.  The  monks,  now  grown  daring,  withstood 
him.  First  of  all,  they  held  up  Laski  to  suspicion  as 
a  stranger  who  sought  to  introduce  new  customs. 
They  owed  no  obedience  to  him,  the  Pole  with  a 
beard  reaching  to  his  breast.  The  sly  Franciscans 
knew  right  well  the  value  of  the  card  they  were 
playing  against  the  hated  opponent,  for  the  Fries- 
lander  is  almost  inaccessible  to  strangers,  and  I  count 
it  among  the  strongest  marks  of  the  authority  of  our 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      251 

friend  that  this  saying  failed  to  have  the  desired 
effect,  and  that  they  willingly  submitted  to  the 
influence  of  this  "  stranger "  in  the  land.  Laski 
wishes  to  convince  the  monks  of  their  false  doctrine 
in  a  public  disputation  ;  the  monks,  however,  feel 
themselves  no  match  for  the  able  theologian,  and 
know  how  adroitly  to  defer  the  disputation  till  the 
autumn,  hoping  that  then  their  protector,  Count  John, 
will  have  returned,  and  will  save  them  the  trouble  of 
the  doubtful  controversy. 

Even  among  the  Protestants  themselves  there 
were  not  a  few  disinclined  for  a  decisive  rupture 
with  the  papal  customs.  We  receive  a  distinct 
impression  of  their  opinion  from  a  writing  of  A 
Lasco,  published  probably  about  this  time  :  On  the 
holding  aloof  from  Papal  Services*  The  interesting 
tractate  places  us  in  the  midst  of  the  movement 
of  that  day,  and  shows  us  for  how  many  it  had 
become  difficult  to  sever  themselves  from  the 
customs  half  understood  indeed,  but  endeared  to 
them  from  their  earliest  youth.  Patience  was 
demanded  for  these  weak  persons  ;  one  may  even 
discover  in  these  forms  a  Christian  sense,  and  ought 
at  least  to  let  them  die  out  undisturbed.  Laski 
victoriously  proves  the  untenable,  hybrid  character 
of  such  unsettled  views,  and  lays  bare  the  deep 
injuries  inflicted  upon  the  religious  life  by  partici- 
pation in  a  religious  service  which,  after  all,  is  built 
up  without  any  foundation  in  God's  Word.  He 
appeals  once  in  his  reasoning  to  the  beautiful  words 
of  Calvin>  that  "  nothing  in  our  lives  ought  to  appear 
so  dear  and  valuable  to  us,  that  we  should  for  the 

*  Kuyper,  i.  64. 


252  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

sake  of  it  in  any  wise  defile  ourselves  with  idolatry." 
Our  La  ski  was  animated  in  this  domain  by  the 
sacredly  earnest  spirit  of  the  Genevan  Reformer, 
who  will  not  make  terms,  but  only  contend  for 
God's  unsullied  honour.  The  tractate  concludes 
with  the  words  :  "  I  am  ready  to  give  heed  to  any 
counter-argument,  if  I  seem  not  to  have  rightly 
treated  the  matter  ;  for  I  seek  not  my  own  honour, 
which  is  of  no  moment,  but  the  honour  of  Him 
to  whom  every  knee  must  bow,  now  and  in  eternity. 
Amen." 

It  was  an  unwonted  language  which  the  people 
of  Emden  now  heard  pronounced  with  manly  and 
firm  decision.  It  was  not  to  every  one's  taste  ;  it 
contradicted  too  bluntly  the  traditional  and  now 
endeared  practice ;  called  for  a  radical  change  in 
the  life,  such  as  is  heartily  accomplished  only  by 
those  who  refuse  to  confound  custom  with  the 
truth,  and  are  resolved  to  follow  the  latter  alone. 
The  demand  of  the  stranger  appeared,  moreover,  to 
these  hybrid  beings  a  curtailment  of  their  freedom  ; 
and  on  this  point  the  Frieslander  is  firm.  And 
yet  they  could  not  but  feel  that  the  word  to  which 
they  had  listened  was  rather  an  animating  reference 
to  the  chain  they  were  still  dragging  behind  them  ; 
only  the  courage  of  faith  for  snapping  it  asunder 
was  lacking  to  them.  Even  the  Countess  wavered. 
The  timid  woman  saw  the  peril  which  threatened 
her  and  her  people  from  the  adjoining  Netherlands, 
from  the  Kaiser  himself,  if  she  should  proceed  with 
too  great  decision  against  the  monks  and  their 
godless  ordinances.  She  wished,  as  the  mother  of 
her  country,  to  have  patience  with  the  weak,  as 
Paul  enjoins ;  but  overlooked  the  fact  that  this 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIES  LAND.      253 


'right  and  this  duty  is  conceded  by  the  Apostle  only 
to  him  who  is  strong  in  Christ,  not  to  him  who 
does  not  himself  outgrow  his  weakness.  The 
images  were  to  remain  afterwards  as  before,  and 
no  alteration  was  to  be  made  in  them.  For  Laski 
it  was  a  question  in  this  edict  not  of  the  images 
alone  ;  he  saw  in  the  feeble  yielding  an  encroach- 
ment on  Gospel  freedom  ;  it  was  for  him  a  com- 
pact wherein  human  considerations  were  allowed 
to  make  stipulations  with  the  pure  Word  of  God. 
That,  however,  appeared  to  him  an  abomination 
in  the  sanctuary.  Openly,  boldly,  with  all  the 
courage  of  a  soul  which,  being  made  free  in  Christ, 
will  be  only  His  servant,  he  enters  the  lists  against 
the  Countess.  The  document  itself  which  he  ad- 
dressed to  her  we  possess  now  only  in  copious 
excerpts* — a  valuable,  precious  page  of  the  Refor- 
mation time,  reminding  of  Luther  s  invincible  courage 
of  faith,  as  manifested  in  his  best  products.  Laski 
recalls  to  the  mind  of  the  Countess  how  he  had 
been  led  to  accept  his  difficult  post  under  the  con- 
viction that  the  Countess  was  a  God-fearing  woman, 
and  eager  by  all  means  to  promote  the  glory  of 
Christ.  But  he  has  this  to  charge  her  with — that 
in  matters  of  religion  she  is  drawn  too  easily  to 
the  one  side  or  the  other,  and  supposes  she  must 
follow  rather  the  opinion  of  her  counsellors  than 
the  will  of  God.  And  yet  only  God  is  the  supreme 
Judge,  even  of  kings,  and  they  are  called  as  His 
servants  to  enforce  God's  right,  and  not  the  ordi- 
nance of  men.  God  requires  of  us  to  avoid  idolatry  ; 
how  can  we  then  tolerate  the  idolatry  of  the  monks 

*  In  Emmius,  p.  oio,  from  whom  it  is  taken  by  Kuyper 
(ii-  558). 


254  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

in    our   churches  ?      How  long  are    we    to   halt    on 
both  sides  ?      "  I    am   ready  not    only   to   surrender 
that   which   pertains  to  me,  little  as  it   is,  without 
any   regard  to  honour  or  recompense — nevertheless 
only  upon  one   condition,  that   you,  Countess,  give 
an  open  testimony  that  you  are  minded  to  be    led 
by  the  Word  of  God  alone  and   to  yield  obedience 
to    this.      If   you    will    not    do    this,    but    hold    it 
more    advisable    to    follow    human    ordinances    and 
the  wisdom  of  this  world,  then    I  can  and  will  no 
longer  continue  my  labour  in  your  service.      I   am 
a    servant  of  the    doctrine    of  the  Gospel  and   the 
Apostles,    and    I    am    not    ashamed  to   receive   in- 
struction from  the  humblest  brother  ;  a  minister  of 
human  wisdom  and  custom,  which  creeps  in  beside 
God's    Word,   I    will  not    in    truth  be.      In  human 
things     human     wisdom     has      its     place,    but     in 
Divine  things   God's  majesty,  His  holy  will,   is  be- 
fore  everything.     ...     I   know  well   my  position. 
I    am   a  stranger,    have   a   family,   have   need   of  a 
settled  abode,  for  the  preservation  of  which   I  have 
need  of  benevolence,  not  hostility,  not  injury  ;  and 
of  a   truth   my  aim    and   endeavour  is   to  stand   on 
terms  of  friendship    with   all,   and   to  accommodate 
myself  to  every   one's   mode  of  life,  but  only  unto 
the  altar  :  to  cross  this  limit,  even    from    prudence 
in    such    feeling,    I    am    not    able,  though    I    should 
thereby  suffer  the  loss  of  all  friendship,  and  though 
I  should  leave  my  family  in  the  deepest  distress  and 
poverty  ;  the  Lord,  who  fecdeth  all  things,  will  also 
care  for  those  that  are  mine  if  I  leave  them  nothing." 
He    would    not   have   thus   written — so    our   Laski 
concludes    his    memorable    and    affecting    letter — if 
he  did  not  know  the  devout  mind  of  the  Countess  ; 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      255 

yea,  he  is  convinced  that  she  understands  how  it 
pertains  to  his  office  faithfully  to  exhort  to  that 
which  he  has  recognised  as  belonging  to  her  own 
salvation  and  that  of  the  Church,  and  that  she 
would  leniently  regard  even  this  his  boldness  in  the 
letter.  He  would  have  been  unfaithful  if  he  had  not 
thus  written  ;  he  preferred  being  ungrateful  to  being 
unfaithful,  and  hoped  that,  though  he  should  less 
meet  the  wishes  of  others,  he  would  at  least  not 
appear  ungrateful  in  her  eyes.  He  has  done  that 
to  which  he  was  under  obligation,  if  perhaps  not 
in  an  agreeable  form,  yet  at  least  with  an  honest 
intention  ;  his  labour  was  at  the  service  of  the 
Countess,  but  only  on  condition  of  his  being  free 
to  obey  God  rather  than  men  ;  if  this  condition 
was  impracticable,  then  he  would  demand  his  dis- 
missal. He  implored  upon  her  from  God  His 
Holy  Spirit,  to  guide  her  thoughts  and  deeds  to 
the  glory  of  His  name  and  to  the  edification  of  the 
Church. 

And  God  answered  the  prayer  of  His  faithful 
servant.  The  Countess  bowed  before  the  earnest 
and  reproving  words  of  the  undaunted  man  ;  the 
letter  inspired  her  with  courage,  even  at  the  risk 
of  drawing  down  upon  her  and  her  poor  little  land 
the  imperial  displeasure,  to  lay  aside  all  anxious 
considerations  and  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God, 
as  she  believed  she  heard  it  in  this  letter.  The 
letter  which  she  returned  to  Laski  does  honour  to 
both  ;  let  us  leave  it  undisfigured  in  its  true-hearted 
language  in  the  original:* — "Our  salutations  first 
of  all,  Worthy,  Beloved,  Trusty.  You  have  lately 

*  Meiners,  i.  249,  the  original  Dutch  in  Dalton's  own 
work. 


256  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


bravely  and  earnestly  reminded  us  by  your  letter 
of  that  which  it  becomes  us  to  do  by  virtue  of  the 
honour  of  God  and  our  government  ;  namely,  that 
we  should  put  forth  the  idolatrous  images,  etc.,  out 
of  our  churches,  after  the  example  of  many  Chris- 
tian kings.  We  have  now  well  received  such  ad- 
monition, and  will  pray  God  that  He  may  give  us 
a  heart  and  mind  to  do  all  that  is  well-pleasing  to 
Him.  As  regards  the  images,  we  can  suffer  that 
you  remove  them  out  of  sight  by  night,  yet  not  all 
at  once  ;  and  that  the  foolish  folk  be  not  allowed 
to  be  present  there  ;  but  that  you  make  the  same 
known  to  the  burgomasters  and  prelates,  and  that 
it  be  carried  out  without  noise  :  thus  is  our  good 
pleasure  accomplished." 

The  command  of  the  Countess  was  carried  into 
execution.  The  monks  did  not  yet  abandon  all 
hope  of  ultimate  success.  A  few  weeks  after  the 
edict  their  protector,  the  apostate  Count  Jo/in,  came 
again  to  Emden,  glad  to  have  a  pretext  for  inter- 
vening in  the  affairs  of  the  little  country.  The 
Countess,  however,  stood  firm.  Even  threats  were 
unavailing  ;  the  God-fearing  Reformer  had  inspired 
her  with  resolute  courage,  the  sacred  courage  for 
doing  God's  will,  and  this  makes  a  woman  at  any 
time  a  match  for  a  man.  Nay,  even  Count  John 
felt  the  wonderful  power  which  proceeded  from 
Laski,  established  as  he  was  in  the  will  of  God. 
He  had  an  interview  with  him  ;  we  know  only 
the  result, — that  tacitly,  as  though  vanquished,  the 
Count  left  affairs  to  their  own  course.  The  prop 
of  the  monks  was  broken.  They  had  to  submit  to 
the  inevitable.  Angrily  they  withdrew,  like  old 
people  retiring  upon  an  annuity  when  the  children 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      257 

have  grown  up.  To  the  monks  was  farther  granted 
only  right  of  asylum  in  the  cloister  ;  without  influ- 
ence, without  activity,  they  passed  their  days,  little 
molested  indeed  themselves,  but  placed  upon  the 
superannuated  list.  The  time  dragged  out  slowly 
with  them  ;  only  after  nearly  two  decades  (1561)  the 
last  seven  beneficiaries  could  no  longer  tolerate  a  life 
where  on  all  sides  another  spirit  was  prevailing.  They 
were  portioned  off,  and  sought  out  for  themselves  a 
fresh  resting-place,  to  die  in  the  faith  of  their  fathers, 
which  they  could  hand  down  to  no  children  as  heirs. 
The  renegade  was  not  indeed  minded  for  all  time 
to  lower  his  arms  to  the  man  who  had,  it  is  true, 
been  able  to  reduce  him  to  silence,  but  in  whom 
he  could  not  fail  to  recognise  the  strongest  barrier 
that  arrested  him  in  the  execution  of  his  selfish 
plans.  As  to  the  means,  one  need  not  be  over- 
scrupulous. So  in  August,  1544,  there  appeared, 
at  the  instigation  of  Count  John,  an  ambassador 
from  the  regent  of  the  Netherlands  at  the  court  of 
the  Countess,  to  demand  the  expulsion  of  Laski  as 
a  perjured  man  and  troubler  of  the  peace.*  It  was 
not  difficult  for  the  accused  to  prove  his  innocence. 
The  Countess  urgently  besought  him  not  to  be 
discouraged  by  such  charges,  and  only  to  remain 
with  her  ;  she  gave  the  crafty  brother  in-law  to 
understand  that  she  could  not  dispense  with  the 
counsel  and  co-operation  of  this  man.  "  But  I 
know,"  says  Laski,  "  that  these  people  will  not  cease 
from  their  machinations  until  they  have  succeeded 
in  driving  me  hence.""}" 

*  Compare  Emmius,  p.  926 ;   and  that  which  Laski  writes 
to  his  friend  Hardenberg  with  regard  to  it  (Kuyper,  ii.  581). 
t  Kuyper,  ii.  581. 

17 


258  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Yet  not  so  quickly  as  these  over-powerful  oppo- 
nents thought  were  they  to  succeed  in  the  expulsion 
of  this  warrior.  He  proved  more  and  more  a  chosen 
vessel  of  the  Lord  for  the  weal  of  this  land.  He 
had  yet  many  a  skirmish  to  sustain,  in  order  to 
keep  the  field  for  his  building  labours  clear  of 
adversaries. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  witness  his  contest  with 
another  opponent,  in  those  days  a  very  formidable 
one.  It  would  lead  us  too  far  if  we  should  attempt 
to  show  that  the  Netherlands  had  for  more  than 
a  century  before  this  concealed  within  itself  the 
elements  of  fermentation  in  deep  and  far-reaching 
operation — men  who  in  devout  earnestness  revolted 
against  the  degenerate  Church  and  its  corrupt  ministry, 
with  inner  indignation  beheld  the  abomination  of 
desolation  in  the  sanctuary,  and  now  in  manifold  and 
often  strangely  perverted  wise  meditated  on  a  remedy, 
or,  aside  from  the  Church,  lived  out  unmolested 
their  quiet,  circumscribed  life,  a  godly  one  after  their 
way.  They  were  still  reckoned  in  the  membership 
of  the  Church,  and  appeared  of  too  little  significance 
for  directing  to  them  an  attentive  eye,  were  it  only 
that  of  pastoral  care  ;  with  light  heart  those  who 
should  have  been  their  shepherds  passed  by  the 
little,  insignificant,  disregarded  flock.  But  this  was 
changed  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  The 
clear  morning  note  of  the  Augustin  monk  had 
awakened  all  the  spirits  ;  the  long-closed  valve  was 
set  open,  and  with  shrill  sound  these  forces,  hitherto 
pent  up,  now  burst  forth.  They  are  not  to  be  at 
once  designated  as  children  of  the  Reformation  ; 
and  the  faults  committed  by  them  in  sanguinary 
and  misguided  fanaticism  are  not,  any  more  than 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      259 

the  disturbances  of  the  peasants  breaking  out  on 
every  side,  to  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  Refor- 
mation. They  were  children  of  that  disorderly  and 
degenerate  Church  against  which  the  Reformers 
raised  their  sacred  protest,  not  seldom  in  decided 
insurrection  against  the  Evangelical  Church,  then 
rising  in  youthful  beauty,  victorious  in  the  light 
of  the  truth,  above  all  the  fermenting  and  conflict- 
ing elements.  Most  of  these  fermenting  elements 
collected  among  the  Anabaptists.  It  was  not  mainly 
the  protest  against  the  warrant  for  infant  baptism 
which  united  on  this  point  the  different  varieties, 
but  rather  the  endeavour  after  a  sacred  communion, 
as  an  angry  protest  against  the  Church  sunk  in  vices, 
which  seemed  to  offer  them  in  the  baptism  only 
of  the  regenerate  a  barrier  against  such  worldliness. 
Seemed,  but  how  little  in  reality  afforded  it  ! 
And  what  abominations  of  a  fanaticism  let  loose, 
which  runs  out  and  comes  to  an  end  in  the  slime 
of  the  deepest  immorality,  were  perpetrated  behind 
this  supposed  bulwark  !  .The  blood-red  infamies  of 
the  neighbouring  city  of  Miinster  gleamed  over  evea 
into  East  Friesland. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  free 
inhabitants  of  Friesland  had  transformed  their  little 
country  into  a  home  for  all  those  driven  out  for 
their  faith's  sake  in  those  evil,  troublous  days.  Nor 
can  this  hospitality  be  too  highly  lauded.  In  dense 
crowds  they  came,  those  earnest,  believing  forms, 
who  had  forsaken  house  and  home  and  native  land 
for  the  sake  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour ;  and  here 
sought  and  found  a  quiet  spot  in  the  asylum  opened 
with  liberal  heart,  where  they  might  recover  from 
the  wounds  inflicted,  and  live  in  stillness  and  gravity,. 


260  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

according  to  their  faith.  Amongst  them,  however, 
arrived  others,  restless,  fanatical,  and  excited  spirits, 
who  as  true  enthusiasts  hurried  from  land  to  land, 
here  pining  in  dungeons,  there  again,  unsubdued  by 
all  persecution,  publishing  their  doctrine  in  con- 
venticles and  houses,  and  introducing  a  dire  con- 
fusion among  the  unjudging  multitude.  Upon  their 
journeyings  hither  and  thither  they  gladly  made 
a  halt  in  East  Friesland,  not  in  order  to  rest,  but 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  hospitality  afforded,  in 
order  to  make  their  hosts  sharers  J(,of  their  peculiar 
opinions,  and  that  in  a  very  manifest  and  im- 
perious manner,  at  a  time  when  the  affairs  of  the 
Protestant  Church  in  the  land  were  still  so  little 
established  or  settled. 

Ever  more  urgently  did  the  regent  of  the  Nether- 
lands insist  upon  the  expulsion  of  those  fugitives 
who  belonged  to  her  territory.  She  could  not  bridle 
her  indignation  when  she  saw,  on  the  very  confines 
of  her  land,  the  door  opened  for  all  those  for  whom 
she  had  intended  to  leave  open  only  the  gate  of 
the  prison  and  the  passage  to  the  stake.  Imperial 
commands  arrived  in  Emden,  peremptorily  demand- 
ing the  expulsion  of  the  sectaries.  In  case  of 
refusal  the  threat  was  held  out  of  putting  a  stop 
to  all  trade  with  East  Friesland,  a  kind  of  Con- 
tinental blockade  by  water  and  land  for  the  poor 
dreary  little  country.  The  threat  did  not  fail  of 
producing  its  effect,  specially  among  the  courtiers, 
who  feared  a  curtailment  of  their  luxuries.  But  it 
did  not  move  our  Laski,  and  his  courageous  faith 
imparted  itself  also  to  the  Countess.  He  severely 
reprimanded  the  timid  ones,  reproaching  them  with 
being  Epicureans,  more  readily  alarmed  at  the  edict 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      261 

of  an  emperor  than  at  the  threatenings  of  God,  who 
chastises  a  negligent  government.  "  They  are  pre- 
pared, if  God  permits  it,  to  banish  sects,  not  for 
the  sake  of  God,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  Emperor."* 
Formerly  there  was  need  only  of  a  timely  mildness 
to  restrain  the  people  within  bounds  ;  at  that  time, 
however,  the  authorities  suffered  anything  whatever 
to  take  place  ;  and  now  they  are  ready  to  proceed 
with  such  severity  as  passionately  to  assail  all 
strangers,  without  regard  to  guilt  or  innocence. 
Laski  enabled  the  Countess  to  put  a  check  upon  this 
procedure,  by  requiring  that,  in  the  first  place,  a 
distinction  should  be  drawn  in  the  judgment  be- 
tween dangerous  and  inoffensive  sects  and  sectaries, 
and  only  the  former  should  be  expelled..  The 
ministers  had  to  try  the  individuals  ;  he  who  was 
seen  by  them  to  be  harmless  and  innocent  was 
permitted  still  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  hospitality 
undisturbed.  A  graceful  victory  of  the  profoundly 
Christian  spirit  of  the  Reformer,  who  feared  God, 
and,  therefore,  no  longer  any  man,  even  any  emperor, 
over  the  intolerance  of  those  men  of  the  world  who 
are  prepared  to  bow  before  any  kind  of  force. 

It  was  an  immense  and  toilsome  labour  which 
was  thus  rolled  upon  the  shoulders  of  Laski  and;  his 
colleagues.  Our  friend  cherished  the  hope  that,  in 
a  mild  and  conciliatory  mood,  an  understanding 
might  be  arrived  at  with  one  or  other  of  these 
factions.  He  had  preserved  a  clear  and  open  eye 
for  discovering  in  the  different  sects  some  common 
property  which  was  akin  to  the  essential  character- 
istic of  the  Evangelical  Church.  With  the  em- 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  574. 


262  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

phasising  of  this  common  possession,  he  thought  he 
would  be  able  by  persuasion  to  bring  those  who  were 
misled  to  the  rejection  of  their  sectarian  doctrines  ; 
the  nobility  of  his  mind,  the  purity  of  his  character, 
might  well  serve  as  security  for  a  favourable  result. 
His  sacred  love  to  the  Redeemer,  his  longing  desire 
to  avoid  that  division  in  the  Evangelical  Church,  and 
to  render  this  Church,  in  its  compact  unity,  strong 
against  the  common  foe — ever  more  threatening, 
because  led  by  one  mind, — inspired  him  with  courage 
not  to  shrink  from  the  magnitude  of  the  labour.  A 
man  of  like  mind,  Martin  Sneer,  had  lately  suc- 
ceeded in  Strassburg,  in  a  similar  endeavour — that 
of  winning  over  the  Anabaptist  elements  of  that 
region,  by  means  of  kindness  and  conciliation,  to 
the  Evangelical  Church  ;  why  should  not  this  also 
be  possible  to  him  in  East  Friesland  ? 

Among  the  first  attempts  to  pave  the  way  for  an 
understanding  was  that  directed  to  the  followers  of 
David  Joris,  one  of  the  strangest  and  most  doubtful 
leaders  of  sects  of  that  day,  whose  adherents  were 
numerously  scattered  throughout  the  land.  The 
writer  who  has  succeeded  in  most  clearly  working 
out  from  the  maze  of  contradictory  accounts  a 
fitting  picture  of  this  painter  and  prophet  of  Delft, 
fiercely  gleaming  in  boundless  self-delusion,  sums 
up  the  peculiarity  of  this  extraordinary  and  almost 
incomprehensible  phenomenon  in  the  words  :  "  In  the 
highest  degree  fired  with  enthusiasm,  exalted  above 
all  outward  distress  in  the  night-life  of  the  spirit — 
a  life  subject  to  the  dominion  of  an  overstrained 
imagination — and  withal  held  in  bondage  at  the 
same  time  by  voluptuous  passion  ;  thus,  with  the 
most  remarkable  mingling  of  the  sublimest  and  the 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      263 

basest  thoughts,  Joris  begins  to  form  his  sect,  in 
ever  firmer  conviction  of  his  Divine  mission. 
Nothing  is  too  high,  too  remote,  too  difficult  for  him, 
in  venturing  the  attempt  to  obtain  recognition  for 
his  prophetic  dignity.  Fanatical  disciples,  blindly 
devoted  to  him,  augment  his  self-confidence  ;  and 
thus  he  ventures  not  only  to  measure  himself  with 
different  parties  of  the  Anabaptists,  but  also  with 
the  leaders  of  the  Reformation,  and  even  with  the 
leading  secular  powers  of  his  time.  It  is  in  vain 
that  he  is  visited  on  every  side  with  repulse, 
mockery,  persecution  ;  he  arises  ever  more  ardent, 
ever  more  fanatical,  as  a  reformer  of  the  world  ; 
and  ever  more  blindly  do  his  partisans  follow  him 
upon  the  slippery  path,  themselves,  like  him,  now 
drunk  with  the  highest  enthusiasm,  now  enslaved 
with  degraded  sensual  lust.  No  toil,  no  danger,  no 
persecution  is  shunned  by  the  prophet,  nor  is  it 
shunned  by  the  disciples  ;  yet  the  foolhardy  courting 
of  danger  does  not  long  hold  out  in  the  case  of 
such  spirituo-physical  enthusiasm,  but  speedily  gives 
place  to  the  opposite  ;  when  the  pinching  poverty  of 
the  beginning  has  been  replaced  by  sudden  wealth, 
he  who  in  any  case  had  placed  himself  in  the  closest 
relation  to  the  Christ  of  David  disappears  without 
a  trace  from  the  scene  of  the  conflict."* 

All  attempts  to  bring  about  a  union  between  the 

*  Nippold,  Zeitschr.  fur hist.  Theol.  (Gotha,  1863),  p.  163. 
Toris  passed  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  utter  obscurity  at 
Basle,  where  he  went  under  a  feigned  name  (Johann  van 
Brugge).  He  assumed  the  character  of  an  honest  citizen,  and 
even  put  on  the  hypocritical  guise  of  a  devout  member  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  The  sentence  was  carried  out  only  upon 
his  lifeless  body  which,  with  a  more  perfect  acquaintance, 
would  haply  in  the  days  of  Servetus  have  been  executed  upon 
the  living  man  himself. 


264  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

closer  adherents  of  Joris  and  the  Evangelical  Church 
proved  a  manifest  failure  ;  nor  was  a  quiet  toleration 
of  their  doings  in  the  land  found  to  be  possible. 
A  regulation  issued  by  the  Countess  in  1545  ordains 
that,  inasmuch  as  the  Davites  (the  followers  of 
David  Joris)  are  not  to  be  trusted  in  their  doctrine, 
it  is  needless  to  examine  them  before  the  superin- 
tendent. They  are  accordingly  banished  the  land, 
and  their  return  is  forbidden  under  pain  of  death. 
Another  and  more  friendly  form  would  the 
bearing  towards  the  numerous  Mennonites  assume. 
As  early  as  1528  Anabaptists  had  entered  the  land, 
and  had  met  with  hospitable  reception.  At  first 
they  were  but  little  noticed.  They  lived  on  in  quiet, 
avoided  all  contact  with  the  world,  and  were  for  the 
most  part  glad  to  rest  for  a  while,  after  the  persecu- 
tion they  had  undergone  in  their  native  land.  This 
state  of  matters  was  changed  when  in  1531  Melchior 
HofmanncATO&tQ  Emden, — a  rude,excitable,  fanatical 
nature,  who  had  been  travelling  about  for  the 
previous  eight  years  in  the  character  of  journeyman 
furrier,  and  withal  preacher.  In  the  course  of  his 
restless  wanderings  he  had  come  as  far  as  Dorpat  ; 
the  little  knot  of  adherents  quickly  gained  there 
was  dissolved  again  soon  after  his  removal  ;  no  trace 
of  his  activity  has  remained  at  this  distant  outpost 
of  the  Evangelical  Church.  Presently  Hofmann  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  Anabaptists  in  East  Friesland  ; 
his  messengers  traversed  the  little  land  through  and 
through,  and  spread  his  doctrine  in  the  remotest 
villages.  Soon  after  his  departure  to  Strassburg 
his  place  was  taken  by  Jan  Matthiesen,  who  ere 
long  played  a  notorious  part  in  Miinster,  as  the 
prophet  Enoch.  The  tragedy  gleamed  from  there, 


AT  THE   GOAL  IJV  EAST  FRIESLAND.      265 

like  a  bloody  Aurora  Borealis,  even  to  East  Friesland. 
Then  it  was  a  happiness  for  the  Frisian  Anabaptists 
that  at  their  head  arose  Menno,  the  son  of  Symon, 
himself  a  Frieslander,  and,  like  his  countrymen, 
vigorous,  sensible,  freedom-loving.  Of  an  earnest, 
sober  nature,  he  was  an  opponent  of  enthusiasm,  of 
fanaticism  ;  with  great  wisdom,  he  led  the  excited 
mind  of  his  companions  to  the  central  point  of  their 
communion,  the  entire  separation  of  the  pure, 
believing  congregation  from  the  world — the  un- 
believers and  the  Protestant  and  Romish  Churches, 
with  their  admixture  of  unbelief  and  immorality. 
The  baptism  of  the  regenerate  was  the  mode  of 
incorporating  into  this  believing  Church  ;  the  strictest 
discipline  sought  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the 
spiritual  community.  We  have  not  here  to  show 
that  which  was  false  and  erroneous  in  this  separation, 
that  of  an  antichristian  nature  which  reflects  itself 
in  this  life  apart ;  the  fact  must  be  emphasised,  that 
this  community  adopted  also  elements  that  were 
sound  and  true,  to  which  it  owes  its  existence  unto 
the  present  day. 

This  Mennonite  congregation  was  in  the  days  of 
Laski  in  a  flourishing  state.  Almost  simultaneously 
with  himself  Menno  had  come  to  Emden.  The 
community  numbered  in  its  midst  honest,  quiet, 
rigidly  moral  citizens.  To  carry  out  against  them 
the  whole  severity  of  the  imperial  commands,  and 
thus  to  deprive  the  land  of  these  its  industrious, 
honest,  quiet  people,  was  that  to  which  Laski  would 
never  have  consented.  He  occupied  towards  them 
the  enviable  standpoint  which  Luther  held  in  the 
brilliant  days  of  his  labour,  when  he  quitted  the 
Wartburg  and  hastened  to  Wittenberg,  to  quench 


266  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


there  the  threatening  conflagration.  "  By  the  Word 
heaven  and  earth  was  created  ;  the  same  Word  must 
also  avail  here  ;  by  the  Word  the  world  has  been 
overcome.  Therefore  I  will  preach,  speak,  write  it  ; 
but  no  one  will  I  compel,  or  constrain  by  force." 

And  Laski  did  not  grow  weary  of  dealing  with 
the  Mennonites  in  this  truly  evangelical  spirit. 
With  the  consent  of  the  Countess  and  the  approval 
of  his  colleagues,  he  held  a  prolonged  discussion 
with  Menno  in  the  presence  of  many.  The  con- 
troversy proved  fruitless  ;  there  were  in  particular 
three  points  on  which  no  unity  could  be  arrived  at  : 
on  the  Incarnation  of  Christ,  on  Baptism,  and  on 
the  warrant  for  undertaking  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word  in  the  congregation.  Both  sides,  as  usually 
happens,  claimed  the  victory.  Specially  among  the 
Mennonites  was  the  joy  of  victory  loudly  expressed, 
and  there  seems  to  have  been  no  lack  of  really 
malicious  judgments  regarding  the  Evangelical  Church 
and  its  ministers.  Menno  further,  during  the  same 
year,  issued  a  letter  to  Laski,  in  which  he  treated  at 
large  of  the  first  controverted  point  in  their  dis- 
cussion. Laski,  who  till  then  had  kept  silence, 
thought  himself  called  upon  to  meet  this  challenge, 
the  more  so  since  Menno  had  here  too  inveighed 
abundantly  against  him,  against  his  companions  in 
office,  and  the  whole  Evangelical  Church,  and  his 
adherents  had  loudly  boasted  of  the  silence  preserved 
hitherto,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  defeat.  In  spite 
of  the  insulting  tone  of  the  opponent,  Laski  preserves 
his  gentle  refined  repose.  "  I  shall  judge  that  I 
have  rightly  answered,  not  when  I  have  returned 
invective  for  invective,  or  have  exposed  thee  and 
thine,  but  if  I  have,  in  proportion  to  my  little  power, 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      267 

in  any  way  advanced  the  glory  of  my  Lord  Jesus, 
and  have  taken  a  step  forward  towards  the  settle- 
ment of  a  disputed  point  in  a  doctrine  by  which 
the  Church  of  Christ  is  rent  asunder,  and  for  which 
surely  we  ought  to  have  much  greater  consideration 
than  for  ourselves."* 

The  controverted  point  played  an  important  part 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  Anabaptists.  The  Miinster 
Anabaptists  had  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck  with 
the  legend,  Verbum  caro  factnm  habitavit  in  nobis  : 
"  The  Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt  in  us."  The 
second  member  of  the  proposition  was  interpreted 
by  not  a  few  of  them  in  a  pantheistic  sense  ;  the 
first  member  served  them  as  the  main  support  for 
their  much-involving  peculiar  doctrine  :  that  the 
Son  of  God  did  not  take  upon  Himself  human  form, 
but  that  the  Word  of  God  became  man.  Hofmann 
had  already  strongly  emphasised  the  heavenly  de- 
scent of  the  flesh  of  Christ  ;  Mcnno  took  up  this 
doctrine  again,  and  sought  to  support  it  in  particular 
on  the  side  of  the  doctrine  of  sin.  Christ  cannot 
have  taken  upon  Himself  our  guilty,  curse-laden, 
sinful  nature,  and  made  it  His  own  ;  otherwise  He 
would  not  have  been  able  to  redeem  us.  He  must 
have  a  pure,  Divine  humanity,  not  the  corrupt 
Adamic  nature,  that  He  might  be  the  second 
Adam.t  Laski  in  his  reply  J  sums  up  the  opposi- 


*  Kuyper,  i.  7. 

t  Dorner,  Gesch.  der  Prof.  Theologie,  ii.  637.  Compare  also 
Erbkam,  Gesch.  der  Prot.  Sekten  (Hamburg,  1848),  p.  571. 

$  Compare  Kuyper,  i.  i — 62.  In  Calvin,  xii.  50,  the  statement 
is  found,  that  on  the  advice  of  Hardenberg,  the  Archbishop  of 
Cologne,  who  generally  resided  at  his  hunting  seat  near  Bonn, 
undertook  to  have  the  letter  printed.  Hence  Bonn  is  the 
place  of  printing. 


268  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

tion  in  the  two  forms  of  doctrine  in  the  words  : 
"  This  is,  however,  our  point  of  difference.  We, 
who  ascribe  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  true  Godhead, 
and  also  at  the  same  time  true  humanity — we  say, 
'  That  adorable  Word,  who  as  to  His  essence  is 
from  eternity  to  eternity  God  and  also  spirit,  is 
still  also  that  which  He  was  ;  but  now  He  has  in 
such  wise  for  us  united  with  the  Lord  Christ,  after 
taking  upon  Him  our  flesh  and  blood,  that  He  is  in 
truth  that  which  His  name  denotes,  Immanuel,  God 
with  us.'  But  thou  teachest,  the  Word,  which  was 
once  spirit,  has,  by  some  kind  of  mutation,  become 
flesh,  not,  however,  our  flesh,  but  a  flesh  received 
and  derived  from  the  Holy  Ghost."  * 

We  are  too  widely  removed  in  the  present  day 
from  the  point  of  controversy  to  be  able  tolexperi- 
ence  any  pleasure  in  reproducing  the  whole  diffuse 
analysis  in  detail.  Laski  kept  the  promise  he  had 
made  in  the  introduction.  As  soon  as  the  main 
proposition  of  the  controverted  point  was  laid  down, 
he  attempted,  in  that  earnest  dignified  manner  which 
is  concerned  only  about  the  subject  itself,  to  prove 
the  justice  of  his  exposition,  as  opposed  to  the 
adverse  opinion.  His  only  weapon  he  derives  from 
Holy  Scripture.  He  does  not  arbitrarily  separate 
one  or  other  passage  from  the  connection  in  order 
to  avail  himself  of  it  for  the  support  of  his  opinion 
otherwise  reached,  merely  because  it  seems  adapted 
to  this  end.  With  a  large  acquaintance  with  Holy 
Writ,  he  proves  his  view  as  only  drawn  from  Holy 
Scripture,  from  Scripture  in  its  fulness.  His  exposi- 
tion is  calm,  intelligent,  even  as  with  the  great 

*  Kuyper,  i.  10. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      269 

expositor  Calvin  in  a  spirit  of  edification,  from 
which  one  discovers  the  sacred,  devout  earnestness 
with  which  his  spirit  has  been  absorbed  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  Word  of  God.  Far  from  all  unc- 
tuous discourse,  with  which  more  than  a  century 
after  so  many  an  otherwise  sound  exposition  of 
Scripture  is  amalgamated,  not  exactly  to  its  advan- 
tage, a  language  here  prevails  which  is  entirely 
laid  hold  of  by  the  august  majesty  of  the  Word  of 
God,  and  which  testifies  seriously,  manfully,  power- 
fully, of  the  truth  recognised.  It  is  a  refreshment 
for  every  genuine  and  sound  mind,  a  spiritual  tonic, 
such  as  is  afforded  us  by  Calvin  and  the  other 
Reformers  and  Church  Fathers  of  the  first  rank  in 
ever-abiding  freshness. 

The  writing  met  with  great  approbation  among 
the  theologians  of  that  day.*  Melanchthon  spoke 
of  it  in  a  letter  to  the  Duke  Albert  of  Prussia  as  a 
praiseworthy  treatise  ;  f  nay,  he  commended  it  to 
Luther  himself  for  reading.  This  he  would  venture 
to  do  at  that  time  (it  was  in  the  summer  of  1545) 
only  if  he  were  quite  sure  of  not  creating  a  fresh 
scandal  for  the  old  master  by  the  writing  thus  com- 
mended. For  the  sacramental  controversy  had  but 
lately,  enkindled  anew  by  Luther,  broken  out 
afresh  with  unexpected  energy  ;  and  Melanchthon 
and  his  friends  had  long  dreaded  lest  the  vial  of  the 
terrible  man's  wrath  should  be  poured  out  upon 
their  heads  also.  What  unspeakable  misery  would 
such  open  difference  have  entailed  upon  the  Evan- 
gelical Church  !  Luther  seems  not  to  have  read  the 

Compare    Bertram,    His  form     Critica    Joh.    a    Lasco 
(Aurich,  1733),  p.  163. 
f  Melanchthon,  v.  791. 


2;o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

work  ;  not  even  in  his  letters  is  any  verdict  pro- 
nounced upon  it ;  and  yet  one  and  another  proposi- 
tion might  well  appear  open  to  question.  A  Lasco 
touches  once  or  twice  on  that  border  region  at  which 
the  peril  of  a  divergence  between  the  two  manly 
forms  in  Christ  would  threaten  ;  Lutlter  kept  a 
sharp  watch  there,  and  thought  he  could  never  too 
earnestly  warn  off  from  the  narrow  frontier  territory. 

Originally  A  Lasco  cherished  the  intention  of 
treating  the  other  two  polemic  writings  of  Menno 
with  like  fulness  of  detail.  Under  the  pressure  of 
other  labours,  which  beset  him  on  every  side,  he 
did  not  find  the  time  necessary  for  this  work,  as 
also  the  wish  was  gradually  lost.  It  was  needless, 
because  the  opponent  was  lacking  in  the  requisite 
preparation  and  thorough  training  for  the  scientific 
examination  of  such  serious  and  profound  questions  ; 
his  opinions  and  assertions  were  wanting  in  the 
necessary  confirmation  from  Holy  Scripture ;  nor 
was  he  conscious  of  the  presence  of  this  defect. 
Against  such  incapacity  even  the  most  honest  zeal 
for  teaching  is  powerless. 

Menno  did  not  remain  much  longer  in  Emden 
after  this  interchange  of  correspondence.  He  was 
the  acknowledged  head  of  that  sect  which  came 
forth  chastened  and  purified  out  of  the  bloody 
persecutions,  whose  members  were  henceforth  called 
by  his  name,  and  owe  it  mainly  to  his  pious  activity 
that  they  have  been  preserved  through  the  days  so 
unkindly  to  them,  and  brought  into  a  time  of  greater 
tolerance.  As  a  son  of  this  more  tolerant  age,  our 
Laski  already  granted  them  generous  protection 
so  early  as  the  days  of  the  Reformation.  Only  a 
few  cross-grained,  brawling  members  were  banished 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      271 

the  land  ;  the  bulk  of  them  were  bravely  and  firmly 
defended,  even  against  the  Emperor.  Unmolested  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  faith,  these  Mennonites, 
specially  in  Emden,  have  lived  to  the  present  hour, 
quiet,  peaceful  folk,  who  preserve  themselves  as  far 
as  possible  from  contact  with  the  wicked  world, 
themselves  no  longer  walking  so  strictly  in  the  foot- 
steps of  their  forefathers,  and  no  longer  so  rigidly 
enforcing  that  Church  discipline  to  which  one  day. 
y  almost  in  spite  of  himself,  had  to  submit. 


3.  THE  WORK  WITH  THE  TROWEL  IN  THE  HAND 

We  turn  now  to  the  other  important  part  of  the 
Reformational  labours  of  A  Lasco,  —  that  which  he 
did  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  work  entrusted  to  him 
in  this  his  second  home.  This  part  does  not  rise 
entirely  clear  of  the  other,  in  such  wise  that  he 
would  have  only  to  build  undisturbed  upon  the 
foundation  laid  in  the  Reformation  :  here  too  it 
was  needful  for  him  in  manly  resolution  to  open 
a  path  for  himself,  and  with  firm  hand  to  tighten 
the  overlax  rein. 

Serious  times  for  the  Church  of  East  Friesland 
had  just  preceded  ;  the  unsatisfactory  feeling  of 
having  not  yet  attained  to  the  decided  entrance  on  a 
distinct  and  fixed  direction,  after  making  nothing  but 
endeavours  on  every  side,  had  attained  its  culminat- 
ing point  ;  everywhere  were  seen  the  marks  and 
traces  of  fatal  irresolution,  of  dispersion  of  ecclesias- 
tical affairs  ;  discipline  and  order  were  wanting  ;  the 
individuals  acted  as  seemed  good  to  them  ;  the 
congregations  were  involved  in  the  mutation  of 
opinions  successively  arising.  The  brave  old  Count 
Edzard  had  been  attached  to  the  Reformation  with 


272  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

all  his  heart ;  the  wonderful  writings  of  Luther  in  his 
early  days,  and  his  bold  standing  forth  in  the  strength 
of  his  faith,  had   appealed  to  Edzard's  true  Frisian 
nature.      He  who  first  in  burning  eloquence  obtained 
from    the   pulpit   an   entrance  for   the  Reformation, 
Aportanus,  inclined  in  his  theological  views  prepon- 
derantly to  the  side  of  the  Upper  Rhenish  cities  and 
Switzerland  ;    his    most  weighty   personality   firmly 
impressed  this  its  stamp  upon  the  land  of  his  birth  ; 
the    Frieslanders  felt   themselves   sufficiently  strong 
and  free  to  resist  the  overpowering  influence  of  the 
German  Reformer,  and  the  earliest  Confession  of  the 
land  shows  how  greatly  they  had  succeeded  therein 
as  regards  the  decisive  main  points.      But  after  this 
there  came  ministers  who  had  received  their  training 
at  Wittenberg  and  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  Luther  and 
Melancktkon,  and  who  sought  to  carry  out  at  home 
that   which   they  had    learnt.      Count   Enno   indeed 
readily  confiscated  the  possessions  of  the  rich  monas- 
teries ;  but   he  lacked    the  strong,  earnest  power  of 
personal    conviction.      He    preferred     letting    things 
drift  as  they  would  ;  and  so  various  currents  made  a 
way  for  themselves.      One  of  these  was   of  a  kind 
which  called  for  the  closest  adhesion  to  Luther.      It 
coincided  in  point  of  time  with  the  influence  which 
Duke  Charles  of  Gueldres  acquired  on  the  destiny  of 
the  land  by  his  victory  over  Enno  in  I  534      Among 
the  harsh  conditions  imposed  by  the  victor  was  that 
of  the  restoration   of    the  ancient   Church    in    East 
Friesland  ;  only  in  the  meantime  the  Catholic  duke 
made  the  concession  of  resting  content  for  the  space 
of  a   year  with   the  introduction  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession  and  the  Saxon  Church  order.*      In  con- 

*  Cornelius,  as  before,  p.  42. 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      273 

sequence  of  this  stern  decree,  the  Sacramentarian 
preachers  were  to  quit  the  land  ;  and  the  strictly 
Lutheran  Duke  of  Luneburg,  the  brother-in-law  of 
the  Romish  Duke  of  Gueldres,  was  to  introduce 
Lutheranism  into  East  Friesland.  That  which  the 
Luneburgers  attempted  to  bring  about  with  brusque 
zeal  seemed  to  the  Frisians  like  a  gift  of  the  Greeks  ; 
the  stranger-preachers,  who  were  under  the  protection 
of  the  harsh  Catholic  victor,  encountered  a  tough  and 
prolonged  resistance.  The  Duke  died  in  1538  ;  and 
simultaneously  with  his  death  the  influence  of  the 
Luneburgers  came  to  an  end.  Their  Church  order, 
which  had  never  struck  root,  fell  to  the  ground  ;  but 
now  the  confusion  became  greater,  and  the  proud 
sense  of  freedom  degenerated  into  lawlessness.  It 
was  high  time,  if  the  much-tried  little  country  was 
not  to  be  utterly  undone,  that  the  disorder  were 
checked,  and  a  powerful  hand  laid  upon  the  spokes 
of  the  downward-rolling  wheel. 

A  Lasco,  too,  was  a  stranger,  like  those  unwelcome 
Luneburg  preachers,  not,  however,  a  stranger  under 
the  protection  of  a  harsh  Romish  victor,  but  an 
exile  from  his  native  land,  poor,  defenceless,  standing 
only  in  the  armour  of  his  Lord,  for  whom  he  had 
joyfully  sacrificed  his  all.  The  Frisians  had  taken  a 
liking  to  the  outspoken  foreigner  who  boldly  raised  his 
voice  for  the  rights  of  the  people,  even  against  the 
mightiest  despot  who  should  dare  to  invade  these 
rights.  The  radically  disordered  state  of  affairs  was 
but  too  clearly  apparent ;  the  necessity  for  a  remedy 
pressed  upon  every  one  who  had  the  welfare  of  the 
land  at  heart.  A  longing  desire  was  felt  for  effect- 
ing an  improvement  ;  and  the  firm  confidence  was 
cherished  alike  by  the  Countess  as  by  her  people 

18 


274  JOHN  A  LA  SCO. 

that  the  devout  Polish  noble,  who  had  been  living 
for  the  past  year  or  two  a  quiet  serious  life  in  the 
land,  was  the  man  qualified  for  the  task. 

This  was  no  delusion.  A  Lasco  had  recognised 
what  was  needful  for  the  Church  of  the  land,  and, 
with  marvellous  tact,  he  gave  to  it  its  permanent 
stamp ;  so  that  he  is  rightly  designated  the 
Reformer  of  East  Friesland. 

The  existing  troubles  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  com- 
pelled him  first  of  all  to  seek  the  lever  for  his 
Reformational  activity  in  the  province  of  Church 
discipline.  The  disorders  arising  from  a  long  absence 
of  all  discipline  were  terrible.  The  railing  and 
scolding  of  the  preachers  in  the  pulpit ;  their  lives, 
not  at  all  free  from  reproach,  and  sometimes  even 
a  scandal ;  the  widespread  indifference  among  the 
congregations  with  regard  to  the  schools,  the  care 
for  the  poor,  etc.,  had  alienated  from  the  Church 
many  earnest  minds.  They  lived  for  a  while  a  quiet 
life  apart,  addicting  themselves  only  to  the  study 
of  the  Word  of  God  in  their  houses,  afterwards  in 
due  time  a  sure  and  easy  prey  to  the  Anabaptists, 
who  observed  so  severe  a  Church  discipline  among 
themselves.  A  Lasco  had  a  clear  eye  to  recognise  the 
disease.  "  I  told  the  Council  we  should  never  want 
for  sectaries  so  long  as  we  were  severe  towards 
others  and  lenient  towards  the  vices  in  our  own 
midst.  So  long  as  they  prevailed  among  us,  we 
should  have  to  make  a  distinction  between  those 
who  submit  to  the  Church's  regulations  and  those 
who  despise  the  Church  of  God  and  its  discipline."  * 
There  arose  a  great  outcry  over  such  a  demand  ; 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  574. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      275 

the  freedom  was  thought  to  be  assailed,  where,  after 
all,  only  limits  were  being  imposed  upon  lawlessness, 
in  order  to  afford  protection  to  real  freedom. 

At  last,  however,  A  Lasco  carried  his  point,  espe- 
cially in  the  capital  of  the  land.  He  found  old 
customs  still  existing,  such  as  made  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  endeavour,  and  which  he  knew  how 
to  turn  prudently  to  account.  Even  from  the  days 
of  the  Middle  Ages  the  Frieslanders  had  contrived 
to  retain  a  much  greater  share  in  the  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  than  the  Romish  Church  had  yet  been  willing 
to  concede  elsewhere,  among  more  docile  peoples. 
The  congregations  had  been  wont  from  of  old  to 
elect  their  own  preachers,  whom  they  had  been 
able,  longer  than  anywhere  else,  to  protect  against 
the  demands  of  celibacy.  So-called  churchwardens 
had  part  in  the  exercise  of  Church  discipline  ;  at 
synods  there  were  to  be  found  laymen  who  possessed 
a  vote.*  The  consciousness  of  a  right,  nay  of  an 
obligation,  to  an  active  participation  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  had  been  preserved  in  lively  exercise.  Even 
the  Luneburg  Church  regulation  had  been  compelled 
to  respect  these  firmly  established  conditions. 

Taking  his  ground  upon  this  old  traditional 
practice,  A  Lasco  got  it  enjoined  in  the  summer  of 
1544,  that  with  the  ministers  of  the  principal  church 
at  Emden  should  be  associated  four  men  out  of  the 
congregation,  earnest,  worthy,  pious  people,  the  task 
being  assigned  to  them  by  the  whole  congregation 
(ccclesid)  of  exercising  an  oversight  in  common  with 
the  preachers  over  the  life  of  the  citizens,  to  exhort 
every  one  to  his  duty,  and  with  authority  also,  in  the 

*  Reformierte  Kirchenzeitung  (Erlangen,  1870),  p.  346. 


276  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

name  of  the  whole  Church,  to  exclude  those  from  the 
community  who  should  disregard  such  exhortation.* 

The  existing  distress  had  suggested  this  arrange- 
ment to  A  Lasco  ;  it  was,  however,  for  him  essentially 
a  result  of  his  study  of  the  Word  of  God,  equally 
as  with  Calvin.  He  was  firmly  convinced  that  with- 
out Church  discipline  there  could  be  no  true  congre- 
gation of  Christ."}"  Therefore  he  made  his  stay  in 
Emden  dependent  on  the  continuance  of  this  blessing- 
fraught  arrangement.  "  If  our  people  are  content 
with  the  Church  discipline  in  accordance  with  the 
Word  of  God,  I  remain  their  preacher ;  but  if  not, 
then  they  will  probably  expel  me.  For  wittingly 
and  willingly  I  will  spare  no  one,  and  therefore 
certainly  expect  that  they  will  not  long  tolerate  me. 
But  I  leave  everything  to  the  Lord,  and  pray  Him 
only  for  this  one  thing :  that  He  will  make  my 
office  subserve  the  glory  of  His  holy  name  and  the 
edification  of  His  Church."  J 

Vigorously,  and  without  being  detained  by  the 
manifold  difficulties  and  hindrances,  was  progress 
made  upon  the  path  struck  out.  Laski  and  his 
colleagues  made  tours  of  visitation  throughout  the 
land.  Minute  investigation  was  made  on  these 
journeys  into  the  capabilities  and  conditions  of  the 
single  Churches,  their  position  as  regards  the  doctrine, 
the  life,  the  zeal  of  the  ministry.  When  an  exact 
insight  had  thus  been  gained  into  the  often  very 
sad  state  of  affairs,  Laski  there  also  at  once  applied 
with  vigour  a  reforming  hand.  The  whole  drift  of 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  575. 

t  So  Lechler  rightly  brings  out :  Gesch.  der  Presbyter,  u 
Synodal-verfassung  (Leyden,  1854),  P-  57- 
i  Kuyper,  ii.  575. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      277 

his  endeavour  was  towards  the  removal  of  all  grounds 
of  contention  and  the  embracing  of  all  the  Churches 
of  the  land,  with  their  ministers,  within  the  bonds 
of  a  blessing-fraught  concord,  here  too  with  all 
the  sacred  earnestness  of  a  Reformer,  who  designates 
Church  discipline  the  vital  nerve  of  Church  life,  and 
regards  the  Church  in  its  essence  as  the  free  and 
brotherly  association  of  the  children  of  God,  designed 
to  lead  the  whole  human  race  to  holiness.  For  this 
reason  he  directed  his  aim  to  the  ordering  of  the 
life  of  the  ministers  within  legal  restraints  ;  guarding 
against  scandals  among  them,  deposing  the  unworthy 
from  their  office,  and  advancing  sound  doctrine  in 
their  midst.  * 

In  order  to  the  attainment  of  this  end,  he 
organised,  with  the  approval  of  the  Countess  and 
the  supreme  Senate,  the  Preachers'  Assembly,  the 
so-called  CoetJis,  without  doubt  the  most  important 
and  far-reaching  institution  of  Laski,  and  one  which 
bears  brilliant  testimony  to  his  Reformational  endow- 
ment. It  well  repays  us  to  obtain  a  near  insight 
into  this  peculiar  "  synod."  From  Easter  to 
Michaelmas  the  ministers  of  the  land  had  to  meet 
in  Emden  every  Monday  morning.  The  assembly 
elected  out  of  its  midst  a  president  and  a  clerk 
for  the  whole  summer-time.  The  sitting  was  opened 
with  a  prayer,  offered  by  the  president.  Its  language 
is  still  preserved  to  us,"!"  nor  is  it  difficult  to  re- 
cognise Laski' s  voice  in  the  pithy  and  hearty- 
pastoral  utterances,  specially  when  we  compare  this 
prayer  with  the  numerous  ones  of  his  Liturgy,  here- 

*  Emmius,  p.  927. 

t  Meiners,  i.  284.     Would  that  such  prayers  might  be  full 
often  heard  at  our  convocations  of  the  preachers  ! 


278  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

after  to  be  spoken  of.  Under  the  hallowed  influence 
of  such  a  prayer,  the  assembly  then  enters  on  the 
testing  of  the  morals  of  the  individual  ministers. 
That  which  had  become  known  concerning  the  life 
and  walk  of  particular  members  was  with  fraternal 
unreserve  discussed  and  thoroughly  investigated. 
If  the  charges  proved  to  be  well-founded,  earnest 
brotherly  admonition  followed.  No  one  was  exempt 
from  this  censura  morum ;  each  one  was  under 
obligation  to  bring  forward  that  which  had  come 
to  his  hearing  of  an  unfavourable  nature  ;  and  the 
right  was  given  to  the  members  of  the  congregation 
of  having  such  complaints  as  they  .might  have  to 
make  brought  before  the  Coetus.  After  this  im- 
portant point  was  disposed  of,  the  assembly  pro- 
ceeded to  the  testing  of  the  candidates  for  the 
ministry.  No  one  was  admitted  to  the  office  of 
preacher  who  could  not  adduce  satisfactory  testi- 
monies to  his  godly  and  upright  life.  The  candidate 
who  was  approved  must  thereupon  deliver  a  brief 
discourse  before  the  Coetus,  that  his  preaching  gift 
might  be  judged  of  therefrom.  It  then  depended 
on  the  verdict  of  the  assembly  whether  the  candi- 
date could  be  furnished  with  a  testimony  to  his 
maturity  or  not. 

After  coming  to  an  end  with  these  practical 
matters,  there  followed  discussions  on  the  principal 
points  of  Christian  doctrine,  especially  on  the  con- 
troversial questions  of  the  day.  The  Coetus  laid 
down  the  subjects  for  treatment  ;  two  preachers 
were  appointed  as  opener  and  respondent,  and  their 
theses  made  known  eight  days  before,  that  every  one 
might  have  an  opportunity  of  preparing  for  the 
thorough  treatment  of  the  subject. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      279 

Unfortunately  the  minutes  belonging  to  the  first 
century  of  its  existence  are  lost,*  an  event  much  to 
be  deplored.  For  how  great  would  the  advantage 
have  been  if  we  had  been  able  to  follow  the  early 
course  of  an  institution  which  has  preserved  itself 
through  the  ages,  and  whence,  specially  in  its 
first  days,  so  rich  a  blessing  proceeded  to  the 
Church  of  the  land  !  The  French  preacher  in  Emden, 
Pastor  Fremauty  even  in  the  seventeenth  century 
testified  of  this  Coetus,  "  This  assembly  serves  for 
the  preservation  of  concord  and  peace  amongst  the 
ministers  and  congregations.  It  is  a  good  school 
for  young  preachers  who  have  a  desire  for  their 
further  training  ;  I  confess  I  have  learnt  more  there 
than  at  the  University."  "j"  A  glance  at  these  first 
minutes,  however,  would  have  also  afforded  us  a 
striking  picture  of  Laski  presiding  in  the  circle  of 
his  colleagues.  For  our  friend  was,  as  is  boasted 
of  him  by  East  Friesland's  leading  historian, J  of 
a  candid  spirit,  and  was  wont  to  set  forth  his  views, 
specially  on  Divine  things,  in  clear  and  frank  dis- 
course. From  the  minutes  still  existing  in  his 
time  Emmius  has  formed  a  judgment  as  to  how  A 
Lasco  in  these  assemblies  used  to  summon  all  to 
concord.  In  weighty,  expressive  words  he  declared 
his  opinion,  and  confirmed  its  truth  with  valid 
arguments  ;  those  who  doubted  or  differed  were 
calmly  listened  to,  instructed,  as  also  borne  with 
when  he  was  unable  to  convince  them,  if  they  only 
maintained  peace  ;  and  the  others  were  taught  that 


*  The  earliest  existing-  minute-book  begins  with  the  entry 
of  Monday,  the  i8th  April,  1642. 
t  Meiners,  i.  283. 
\  Emmius,  p.  927. 


28o  JOHN  A  LA  SCO. 

we  must  so  act,  in  order  not  to  break  up  the 
harmony  or  imperil  the  unity  on  account  of  a  mere 
difference  of  opinion.  In  this  way  our  Reformer 
attained,  in  these  model  synods  of  the  preachers, 
the  so  essential  supplementing — though  one  generally 
overlooked — of  all  Church  discipline  which  is  to  be 
truly  blessed  ;  the  congregation  saw  those  who,  with 
the  Church  elders,  were  called  •  to  watch  over  the 
life  and  walk  of  the  Church-members,  themselves 
constantly  subjected  to  earnest  Church  discipline. 

Though  not  as  a  compensation  for  the  lost  early 
minutes,  yet  at  least  as  a  subdued  echo  of  the 
theological  arguments  in  the  Coetus,  may  we  perhaps 
regard  the  treatise  of  Laski  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
Churches  of  East  Friesland.*  At  any  rate,  this  im- 
portant work  affords  us  an  interesting  aid  for  deter- 
mining the  theological  standpoint  of  our  A  Lasco  in 
those  days,  for  which  he  was  likewise  at  pains  to 
obtain  recognition  in  the  Church  entrusted  to  his 
guidance.  "  The  only  fountain-head  of  Christian 
doctrine  is  God,  and  that  which  He  has  made  known 
in  clear  words  in  Holy  Scripture.  Human  opinion 
has  validity  only  in  so  far  as  it  subordinates  itself 
to  the  analogy  of  faith  and  to  the  Word  of  God. 
There  are  two  main  points  around  which  the  whole 
of  Christian  doctrine  revolves  :  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  the  knowledge  of  ourselves.  God  can  be 
rightly  known  only  from  the  Word  of  God,  which 
is  Christ.  He  teaches  us  to  know  God  as  our  Lord, 
as  righteous  and  true  and  merciful.  To  the  know- 

*  In  Kuyper,  i.  481,  for  the  first  time  appearing  in  print, 
under  the  title  Efiitome  doctrince  ecclesiarum  Phrisice  orien- 
talis.  Autore  Joanne  a  Lasco,  1544.  Compare  thereon  the 
account  by  the  fortunate  discoverer  of  his  painstaking  re- 
searches (ix. — xii.),  as  also  his  introductory  notices  (xlvii. — liii.). 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      281 

ledge  of  God  is  attached  the  knowledge  of  ourselves  ; 
the  former  affords  the  mirror  for  the  latter.  God 
created  man  after  His  own  image,  and  withal  good, 
though,  in  contradistinction  from  Himself,  with  the 
possibility  of  falling.  In  Adam  we  all  sinned  ;  from 
that  time  we  are  infected  with  original  and  actual 
sin.  We  have  become  subject  to  everlasting  death, 
if  we  have  no  physician  to  deliver  our  life  from  the 
fearful  and  otherwise  inevitable  destruction.  God 
has  redeemed  us  in  His  Son,  not  for  our  own 
sakes,  and  still  less  on  account  of  our  merits, 
but  only  for  His  holy  name's  sake.  All  promises 
have  Christ  in  view,  and  make  for  Him.  He  alone 
is  way  and  truth  and  life,  the  only  Mediator  between 
God  and  men  ;  without  Him  no  one  reaches  the 
Father.  Faith  is  an  affection  of  our  spirit,  wrought 
in  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  preaching  of  God's  Word,  in  virtue  of  which 
we  believe  God,  love  Him,  steadfastly  purpose 
henceforth  continually  to  cleave  to  Him,  although, 
by  reason  of  our  weakness,  we  sin  ever  afresh.  In 
order  to  afford  provision  against  this  our  weakness, 
God  gives  us  means  by  which  we  strengthen  and 
renew  our  faith.  As  such  means  are  to  be  regarded 
the  preaching  of  the  Word  and  the  visible  tokens  of 
His  grace,  whereby  He  seals  in  our  hearts  that 
which  He  has  promised  us  by  the  testimony  of 
His  Word :  two  sacraments  under  the  new  cove- 
nant— Baptism  and  the  Supper,  corresponding  to 
circumcision  and  the  paschal  meal  under  the  old 
covenant."  Laski  then  treats  with  great  fulness 
on  the  subject  of  infant  baptism,  and  repels  the 
attacks  of  the  opponents,  which  were  so  strongly 
and  decidedly  expressed  in  Emden. 


282  JOHN  A  LA  SCO. 

More  briefly  does  he  discourse  of  the  Supper  on 
this  occasion,  perhaps  because  Laski  felt  called 
about  this  time  to  express  himself  more  at  large 
on  this  subject  in  an  open  letter  to  a  friend.*  The 
letter  is  a  valuable  document  for  evidencing  his 
view  on  this  much-controverted  article  of  doctrine, 
and  still  more  a  precious  testimony  to  the  liberal 
spirit  of  our  friend.  LutJier  expressed  himself  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Cologne  Reformation  Scheme  (in 
which,  as  we  shall  see,  Laski  was  not  without  par- 
ticipation), and  with  reference  to  the  conclusions 
concerning  the  Supper  reached,  in  this  document : 
"  The  book  is  for  the  enthusiasts  not  only  tolerable, 
but  also  consolatory,  much  more  favourable  to 
their  doctrine  than  to  ours."f  This  severe  judg- 
ment was  shortly  after  (September,  I  544)  followed  up 
by  the  much-to-be-deplored  writing  of  the  Reformer, 
Brief  Confession  of  Dr.  Martin  Luther  concerning 
the  Holy  Sacrament^  in  which  he  suffers  himself 
to  be  carried  away  into  the  expression,  "  For  I, 
who  am  now  going  to  the  grave,  will  carry  with 
me  this  testimony  and  this  glory  before  my  Lord's 
judgment  seat,  that  I  have  with  all  earnestness 
condemned  and  avoided  the  fanatics  and  enemies 
of  the  Sacrament,  Karlstadt,  Zwingel,  Oecolampa- 
dius,  Stenkefeld  (Schwenkfeld),  and  their  disciples 
at  Zurich,  and  wherever  else  they  are,  according  to 
His  command  (Tit.  iii.  10)."  £  Of  such  unchristian 

*  Kuyper  was  fortunate  enough  to  come  upon  the  track  of 
this  letter,  which  was  thought  to  be  lost  (cf.  Kuyper,  i.  557) ; 
it  bears  the  title,  "  Epistola  ad  amicum  quendam  doctum 
scripta,  dura  aegrotarem,  de  verbis  coenae  Domini,  ut  vocant, 
qui  nostram  de  Coena  doctrinam  ex  patrum  et  conciliorum 
autoritate  impugnare,  amice  tamen,  conabatur." 

t  Luther,  Ivi.  121.  \  Ibid.,  xxxii.  396. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRTESLAND.      283 

rancour  as  was  shown  by  the  great  Reformer,  which 
spread  like  a  fatal  shadow  over  his  immediate  dis- 
ciples, and  rendered  the  greatest  service  to  the 
reviving  cause  of  the  Romish  Church,  there  is  not 
the  faintest  echo  in  Laski's  writing  ;  of  the  newly 
kindled  flame  of  controversy  no  sound  penetrates 
into  the  quiet  of  the  writer ;  no  reproach,  no  accusa- 
tion ;  everywhere  the  fine  sacred  calm,  the  edification, 
which  is  wrought  by  dwelling  in  the  sanctuary  of 
the  mysteries  of  God.  He  writes  to  his  friend  that 
there  is  no  more  heartfelt,  sincere,  abiding  love  than 
that  which  arises  within  us  from  the  contemplation 
of  the  Divine  gifts.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Chris- 
tian to  employ  all  his  gifts  to  the  glory  of  the  Giver. 
But  the  task  is  not  a  light  one,  according  to  the 
old  saying,  "  The  beautiful  is  difficult "  (^a\€7ra 
ra  KaXa).  The  recognition  of  Divine  things 
depends  not  upon  the  acuteness  of  our  intellect, 
upon  the  skill1  of  our  judgment,  upon  the  unwearied- 
ness  of  our  labour ;  all  these  things  have  their 
value  and  their  place,  for  they  are  indeed  God's 
gifts  ;  but  they  occupy  only  a  subordinate  position 
compared  with  the  devout  spirit,  the  ^eocre/Seta  (fear 
of  God],  as  the  Greeks  say.  .  .  .  Firmly  must  we 
preserve  in  memory  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord,  who 
only  acknowledges  that  Church  as  His  which  listens 
to  His  word.  Such  must  be  the  mind  of  all  those 
who  will  be  at  home  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  Word. 
For  to  One  alone  does  that  Divine  voice  refer  which 
says,  "  Him  shall  ye  hear,"  namely  Christ  ;  outside 
of  Him  and  beside  Him  there  is  no  place  for  the 
word  of  the  Pythagoreans,  AiVros  e<£a  ("  He,  t/ie 
Master,  said  it"). 

But    we    should    have    to    reproduce    the    whole 


284  JOHN  A  LA  SCO. 

letter  if  we  would  give  full  utterance  to  the  refined, 
pure,  kindly  sentiment  of  Laski  amidst  the  din  of  so 
fiercely  raging  a  controversy.  In  the  further  prose- 
cution of  his  task  A  Lasco  takes  notice  only  of 
Chrysostom,  with  whom  our  friend  manifested  so 
many  kindred  traits,  specially  in  the  charming 
blending  of  intellectual  perspicuity  of  exposition 
with  that  warmth  of  a  devout  Christian  heart  which, 
inspired  and  inspiring,  pervades  his  writings.  In 
particular  the  well-known  eighty-second  Homily  on 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew  is  cited,  to  show  that  the 
Bishop  of  Constantinople,  too,  at  the  close  of  the 
fourth  century,  spoke  of  only  a  spiritual  receiving 
of  the  Lord  in  the  Holy  Supper.  Laski,  however,  will 
not  depend  for  support  for  his  acceptation  upon 
Chrysostom  :  "  Though  all  Church  fathers  and  all 
councils  were  against  us,  Holy  Scripture  abundantly 
suffices  for  making  good  our  doctrine ;  upon  this 
alone  we  take  our  stand,  but  upon  this  all  have  to 
take  their  stand  ;  this  alone  it  is  which  can  and  must 
allay  and  compose  all  conflicts  of  conscience."  Nor 
does  he  regard  Carlstadt  and  Zwingli  as  his 
instructors  and  authorities.  He  willingly  acknow- 
ledges in  both  these  men,  so  passionately  assailed 
by  the  opposite  side,  the  piety  of  their  spirit,  and, 
moreover,  particularly  in  the  Swiss,  an  extraordinary 
discriminative  gift,  combined  with  great  learning  ; 
but  to  their  doctrine  of  the  Supper  he  cannot  assent. 
The  very  thoroughness  with  which  he  bases  his 
argument  upon  the  Word  of  God  alone  renders  A 
Lasco  so  independent  of  human  tenets,  and  yet  so 
just  and  considerate  in  the  criticism  of  an  opponent 
even. 

In  the  stating  of  his  own  view  there  emerges  even 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      285 

in  this  earliest  manifestation  the  favourite  thought 
that  the  little  words  "  this  is "  are  not  to  be 
restricted  to  "  bread,"  but  extend  to  the  whole 
foregoing  action  of  the  breaking,  the  thanksgiving, 
and  the  distribution — a  thoughtful  and  ingenious  ex- 
position, but  yet  an  untenable  one  (compare  the 
words  at  the  dispensing  of  the  cup,  I  Cor.  xi.  25), 
however  important  and  correct  the  emphasising  of 
the  close  connectedness  of  the  words,  "  The  bread, 
which  we  break."  To  the  words  of  Paul,  "  Com- 
munion of  the  body  of  Christ,  communion  of  the 
blood  of  Christ,"  Laski  in  the  connection  of  the 
passage  concedes  only  the  passive  application  ;  so 
that  the  sense  of  the  words  is,  "  We,  who  eat  the 
bread  of  the  Lord  in  His  meal,  have  thereby  at  the 
same  time  fellowship  in  the  mystery  \mysterid\  of 
this  bread,  i.e.,  in  the  body  of  the  Lord."  *  "  The 
signs  of  the  meal  are,  because  a  sacrament,  seals, 
namely,  of  our  fellowship  with  the  Lord  ;  thus,  if  we 
partake  of  them  in  accordance  with  the  institution  of 
the  Lord,  they  set  forth  before  our  .eyes  in  the 
sacred  act  \inysteriutri\  this  fellowship  with  the  Lord, 
and  renew  it  in  our  souls,  and  seal  us  wholly  to 
Him  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  firm 
undoubting  faith,  although  they  afford  us  no 
physical  and  literal  partaking  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord."  | 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  560. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  571.  The  letter  on  the  Supper  passed  from 
hand  to  hand,  and  was  read  on  the  Rhine,  in  Switzerland,  and 
elsewhere.  The  circulation  of  the  aforesaid  treatise  was  much 
more  limited.  Laski  had  only  three  or  four  copies  made. 
Of  these  one  went  to  Entfelder,  in  Konigsberg,  a  second,  at 
his  own  request,  to  Duke  Albert  of  Prussia,  who  forwarded  it 
to  Melanchthon  ;  a  third  was  sent  to  Hardenberg,  just  then 
staying  at  Strassburg,'  for  communication  to  Bucer  and 


286  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

The  treatise  of  which  we  have  spoken  affords  us 
an  insight  into  the  endeavour  of  A  Lasco  to  prepare 
the  way,  by  means  of  the  theological  deliberations  in 
the  Coetus,  for  the  greatest  possible  unity  of  doctrine 
among  the  ministers  of  the  land.  But  this  harmony 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  ministers  of  the  Word  was  in- 
tended above  all  to  redound  to  the  blessing  of  the 
congregation,  of  that  part  of  the  congregation,  too, 
upon  which  the  Evangelical  Church  from  the  begin- 
ning had  bestowed  special  attention,  namely  the 
school-children. 

East  Friesland  early  enjoyed  the  blessing  of  good 
schools.  The  main  labour  indeed  of  the  "  Brothers 
of  the  Common  Life  "  had  been  to  reform  the  schools 
of  their  time ;  and  our  little  country  was  too 
nearly  adjacent  to  the  home  of  these  Brothers  not  to 
receive,  as  at  first  hand,  their  beneficial  influence  in 
this  domain.  As  early  as  the  time  of  the  great 
Edzard  there  were  schools  even  in  the  hamlets  ;  and 
the  first  evangelical  preachers  of  the  land,  for  the 
greater  part  trained  among  the  Brothers  in  Zwolle, 
Deventer,  Groningen,  entered  right  earnestly  on  the 
work  of  education.  A  Lasco  followed  in  their 
footsteps.  The  celebrated  police  regulation  of  the 
Countess  Anne  in  the  year  1545,  upon  the  framing 
of  which  the  superintendent  and  confidential  adviser 
of  the  Countess  had  exerted  so  vital  an  influence, 
determines  what  is  needful  with  regard  to  the  schools. 

Bullinger  (Kuyper,  ii.  569,  572,  575,  765).  The  verdict  upon 
it  was  not  favourable  either  in  Wittenberg  or  even  in  Zurich 
(Gabbema,  p.  59 ;  Melanchthon,  v.  574,  790).  Laski  was 
guided  by  the  counsels  of  his  friends,  and  the  work  did  not 
appear  in  print.  Only  now,  after  an  interval  of  three  hundred 
years,  it  has  fortunately  been  discovered  in  its  hiding  place 
and  incorporated  in  the  complete  works  of  A  Lasco. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      287 

"  We  will  have  you  pastors  and  Church  officers 
earnestly  exhorted  that  you  exercise  a  diligent  over- 
sight over  your  home-staying  \kussitende]  poor,  born 
in  and  inhabitants  of  your  town,  village,  or  hamlet, 
who  are  ashamed  to  beg  their  bread,  and  by  reason 
of  age  and  infirmity  are  not  able  to  earn  anything 
with  their  hands ;  where  also  the  parents  have 
children  who  are  of  five  or  six  years  of  age,  that 
they  be  put  to  school,  in  order  to  learn  the  Creed, 
the  Ten  Commandments  of  God,  and  the  Our  Father; 
if  the  parents  oppose  this  and  are  not  willing,  they 
shall  be  compelled  to  go  by  the  magistrates  and 
officers,  whom  you  will  inform  of  it ;  and  the  school- 
fee,  if  so  be  that  the  parents  are  unable  to  meet  it, 
you  shall  pay  out  for  them.  And  when  they  have 
learnt  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments, 
and  the  Creed,  and  have  become  old  and  strong 
enough,  both  boys  and  girls,  to  earn  their  own 
livelihood,  they  shall  be  put  to  a  trade  or  service  and 
not  permitted  any  longer  to  beg  at  home.  If  the 
parents  shall  not  be  willing  to  let  their  children  be 
put  to  a  service,  this  shall  be  made  known  to  the 
authorities,  that  the  parents  may  be  punished  for 
such  neglect.  Nor  shall  any  assistance  be  given  to 
such  parents  as  have  not  placed  their  children  in  a 
service,  each  according  to  his  strength  and  oppor- 
tunity. If  also  it  is  found  in  truth  by  the  pastors 
and  Church  officers  that  among  the  poor  children 
there  might  be  one,  two,  or  three  who  have  been 
gifted  by  the  Almighty  with  a  special  understanding, 
they  shall,  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  village,  or 
hamlet,  with  the  help  of  the  congregation,  be  kept 
at  school,  and  remain  until  such  time  as  they  are 
old  enough  to  obtain  a  post  to  teach,  and  it  is 


283  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

thought  advisable  to  send  them  abroad  to  other 
schools  ;  that  it  shall  then  be  made  known  to  the 
authorities,  in  order  that  they  may  be  furnished  again 
with  the  necessary  expenses."  * 

The  main  object  of  these  schools  is  stated  to  be 
the  teaching  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, and  the  Creed.  These  are  the  old,  well- 
known  subjects  of  Christian  instruction.  The  framing 
of  the  words  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  at  the  time 
of  proclaiming  this  regulation  (1545)  A  Lasco  had 
not  yet  prepared  a  Catechism.  The  need  for  it  must, 
however,  have  become  more  pressing  from  day  to  day. 
The  publication  of  his  Epitome  of  Christian  Doctrine 
(in  the  previous  year)  might,  it  is  true,  to  some  extent 
meet  the  want  for  a  time,  so  far  that  at  least  the 
ministers  had  a  common  leading-thread  of  doctrine  ; 
inasmuch,  however,  as  the  work  was  not  put  into 
print,  the  publication  of  a  Catechism  was  the  more 
urgently  necessary.  Laski  applied  himself  to  the 
task  in  1546,  in  common  with  his  brethren  in  office, 
yet  in  such  wise  that  he  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
veritable  author,  and  accomplished  the  same  with 
considerable  ability.  The  circulation  was  at  first  only 
in  a  manuscript  form.  It  was  ordained  that  on  the 
Sunday  afternoons  the  ministers  should  preach  on 
this  Catechism  in  regular  order,  in  such  manner  that 
twice  during  the  space  of  a  year  the  whole  contents 

*  Bartels,  Abriss  einer  Geschichte  des  Schulwesens  in 
Ostfriesland  (Aurich,  1870),  p.  7.  We  have,  on  account  of 
its  importance,  extracted  the  whole  passage.  Bartels  with 
justice  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  have  here  one  of  the 
earliest  instances  of  the  compulsory  enforcing  of  school  attend- 
ance. It  is,  moreover,  important  to  notice  that  the  whole  of  the 
parish  is  under  obligation  to  provide  for  the  school,  as  also  to 
observe  the  additional  help  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  in 
the  case  of  children  particularly  gifted. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      289 

should  be  expounded  to  the  congregation  and 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  school-children. 
The  reasons  which  the  Coetus  assigned,  ten  years 
later,*  for  such  arrangement  were  already  appro- 
priate in  1546.  With  all  earnestness  the  ministers 
desire,  for  the  hallowing  of  the  Sabbath,  to  explain 
the  Catechism  at  the  afternoon  services,  in  order  to 
gather  a  congregation  of  God  and  to  instruct  the  same 
from  youth,  yea  from  childhood,  in  the  will  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  thereby  to  preserve  them  from  the 
vanity  and  lust  of  this  world. f  Of  those  manuscript 
copies  not  one  has  been  preserved  to  us  ;  the  work 
would  consequently  have  been  lost  had  not 
Utenhove,  the  friend  of  our  Laski,  prepared  for  the 
use  of  the  Church  of  the  Foreigners  in  London  a 
Flemish  translation,  which  was  printed  in  London 
in  the  year  155  i.^ 

The  very  lengthy  Catechism — it  contains  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  questions  and  answers,  the  latter  often 
of  such  extent  that  the  thought  of  acquiring  them  by 
heart  must  be  abandoned — is  divided  into  four  parts  : 
TJie  Commandments  (i  — 103),  Faith  (104 — 193), 
Prayer  (194 — 214),  TJie  Sacraments  (215 — 250). 
This  division  is  the  old,  frequently  employed  one.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  learn  what  \Q& Laski  to  abandon 
the  division  of  Calvin,  who  inserted  in  his  Catechism 
the  Doctrine  of  the  Word  of  God  as  a  chapter  between 
the  Doctrine  of  Prayer  and  that  of  the  Sacraments,§ 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  496. 

t  Ibid.,  ii.  496. 

\  On  its  origin,  as  also  on  the  relation  of  the  London 
Catechism  to  that  of  Emden,  compare  the  masterly  examina- 
tion of  Kuyper,  i.,  Ixxxi. — xcviii. 

§  Compare  on  this  peculiarity,  passed  over  in  this  and  other 
Catechisms  of  the  Reformation,  Von  Zezschwitz,  System  der 

19 


29o  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

and  yet  not  to  select  the  division  into  three  parts 
which  is  foreshadowed  in  the  ordinance  of  the 
preceding  year,  and  which  also  has  been  adopted  in 
so  independent  and  model  a  form  by  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism.  Even  in  London  the  necessity  was  felt 
for  making  an  epitome  of  this  Catechism — a  work 
which  was  entrusted  to  Micronius,  one  of  the 
preachers  there.*  The  Larger  Catechism  is  reduced 
to  forty-one  questions,  by  the  method  of  an  inde- 
pendent treatment,  which  does  not  reproduce  with 
verbal  fidelity  the  common  points — of  such  scrupu- 
lous bondage  to  the  text  of  a  confessional  writing 
nothing  was  known  in  the  great  free  days  of  the 
Reformation — but  yet  is  in  full  harmony  with  the 
mind  and  spirit  which  pervades  the  Larger  Catechism. 
The  strong,  distinct  sense  of  this  unity  easily  and 
readily  broke  through  the  restraints  of  exact  agree- 
ment in  form,  everywhere  life  gushing  fresh  from 
the  fountain-head,  which  ever  afresh  reproduces 
itself  in  a  new  form,  with  joyous  creative  delight. 
The  epitome  was  not  designed  to  supersede  the 
further  study  of  the  Larger  Catechism  ;  it  formed 
only  a  sort  of  porch  through  which  the  children  had  to 
pass,  in  order  to  be  led  and  incited  to  a  deeper  and 
more  thorough  apprehension  of  the  truths  of  salva- 
tion. 

With  the  same  end  in  view,  the  Emden  ministers 

christl-kirch.  Katechetik  (Leipsic,  1864,  seg.},  ii.  298,  whose 
confessional  standpoint  unhappily  prejudices  his  splendid 
work  ;  in  the  reviewing  of  non-Lutheran  Catechisms  he  is  not 
able  in  all  respects  to  do  justice  to  them. 

*  It  has  rightly  been  received  among  the  writings  of  Laski 
(Kuyper,  i.  478,  in  the  Flemish  language).  It  is  found  admitted 
a  second  time,  now  in  the  Latin  language,  in  Laski's  Forma  ac 
Ratio  (Kuyper,  ii.  127).  The  two  texts  do  not  verbally  agree. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      291 

also,  in  the  year  1554,  were  led  to  the  framing  of 
such  epitome.  With  much  acumen  has  the  merito- 
rious editor  of  Laski's  collected  works  pointed  out 
that  this  book,  though  in  the  fine  preface  addressed 
to  the  ministers  of  East  Friesland  it  professes  to 
be  the  fruit  of  a  common  labour,  must  nevertheless 
in  the  main  have  proceeded  from  the  pen  of  Laski* 
The  Emden  compendium,  with  its  ninety-four 
questions,  is  more  full  than  the  London  one  ;  it  pre- 
ceads  even  more  freely  and  independently  in  the 
reproducing  of  the  material,  as  is  rightly  observed, 
in  evidence  of  its  having  been  composed  by  Laski, 
inasmuch  as  the  author  of  both  works  can  move  more 
easily  and  unimpeded  than  a  stranger,  who  seeks, 
in  a  loving  spirit,  to  reproduce  in  a  condensed  form 
the  material  at  hand. 

A  very  important  place  in  the  literature  pertaining 
to  this  subject  is  taken  by  the  Catechism  of  our 
Laski,  specially  in  the  Emden  compendium,  which 
for  long,  long  years  was  the  authorised  Catechism  in 
East  Friesland — a  precious  possession,  in  which 
generation  after  generation  found  its  edification  and 
the  armour  of  its  faith.  It  wrought  with  deep  and 
decided  effect  on  the  life  of  the  people ;  it  was 
found,  along  with  the  Bible  and  the  Psalm-book,  in 
every  house,  and  that  not  as  a  piece  of  ancestral 
lumber,  lying,  neglected  and  covered  with  dust,  in  a 
corner,  but  rather  in  the  living  possession  of  the 
individuals.  In  the  church  on  the  Sunday  afternoon 
the  minister  of  the  Word  expounded  the  book  ;  at 

*  Kuyper,  i.,  xc.  seq.  The  text  itself  bears  the  title,  "  Cate- 
chismus,  effte  Kinderlehre,  tho  niitte  der  Joget  in  Ostfriess- 
landt  dorch  de  Deners  des  hilligen  Godtlicken  Wordes.  tho 
Embden,  uppet  korteste  vervatet"  (in  Kuyper,  ii.  496  f..). 


292  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

home  the  father  of  the  family  instructed  his  house- 
hold in  the  Confession  of  his  Church  ;  and  the  teacher 
in  the  school  began  early  to  imprint  upon  the  minds 
of  the  children  that  which  they  would  one  day  have 
to  confess,  in  order  to  take  their  place  as  true 
members  of  the  congregation.  For  only  he  was 
allowed  to  attach  himself  to  the  Church  and  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  Supper  who  could  accurately  answer 
the  questions  of  the  Catechism.*  This  was  an 
earnest,  salutary  discipline,  without  which  a  vigorous 
living  Church,  which  can  also  suffer  for  its  faith's 
sake,  never  will  arise  or  continue.  For  a  Christian 
congregation  is  not  a  combination  of  thousandfold 
opinions  and  views  about  the  truth  ;  it  is  the 
steward  of  the  mysteries  of  God,  which  it  preserves 
in  its  common  confession,  to  which  confession,  as 
to  the  truth  of  God,  all  those  submit  themselves 
who  are  living  members  of  this  congregation.  The 
high  estimation  which  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
acquired  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  decades,  in  swift  and 
well-merited  victorious  course,  in  almost  all  lands 
of  the  Reformed  Church,  forced  back  the  Emden 
Catechism  from  the  foreground  ;  there  remains  to 
this,  however,  the  undisputed  glory  of  having 
essentially  affected  the  presentation  of  particular 
points  in  the  younger  standard  work."]" 

It  was  Laski's  intention  to  explain  and  establish, 


*  Kuyper,  ii.  135. 

t  Seisen,  Gesch.  der  Reformation  zu  Heidelberg  (Heidel- 
berg, 1846),  p.  177  f.,  presents  such  a  comparison  of  single 
questions,  from  which  the  profit  is  strikingly  apparent.  Sudhoff, 
Olevianus  und  Ursinus  (Elberfeld,  1847),  p.  89,  enters  more 
in  detail  upon  this  work  of  comparison,  but  neither  does  the 
extent  to  which  he  carries  it  correspond  to  present  require- 
ments. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      293 

in  a  Book  of  ChurcJi  Order*  the  different  institu- 
tions for  the  bringing  about  of  a  Church  life  governed 
in  accordance  with  evangelical  principles.  He  was 
not  able  in  Emden,  amidst  his  toilsome  labours  to 
conquer  for  his  institutions  a  right  of  nationality  in 
East  Friesland,  to  execute  this  purpose  ;  not  till 
much  later,  and  after  the  wider  experiences  which  he 
made  in  this  domain  elsewhere,  did  he  obtain  the 
leisure  for  this  important  work  ;  we  shall  only  here- 
after be  able  to  speak  in  detail  of  this  his  most 
ripened  labour. 

Yes,  it  was  a  toilsome  labour  to  prepare  the 
ground  in  East  Friesland  for  these  so  blessing- 
fraught  Church  regulations,  and  to  get  them  to  take 
firm  root.  He  had  need  of  summoning  up  all  his 
great  power  of  faith,  in  which  he  pursued  the  work, 
as  a  charge  committed  to  him  by  God,  with  enthusi- 
astic devotion,  all  his  gentleness  and  patience  in 
conjunction  with  an  immovable  steadfastness  of  con- 
viction, in  order  not  to  become  paralysed,  and  to 
stand  manfully  against  all  the  fierce  assaults  of  the 
adversary.  Our  friend  often  thought  he  would  have 
to  quit  the  place  of  conflict,  and  he  was  inclined  to 
follow  this  or  that  call  into  other  lands-;-,  for  one 
thing  he  was  firmly  resolved  on,  that  he  would  in  no 
wise  enter  into  negotiations  with  the  opponent^  at 
the  cost  of  the  surrender  even  of  a  single  point 
of  that  which  he  had  recognised  as  Divine  truth. 

The  features  of  one  part  of  the  opponent  are 
not  unknown  to  those  who  have  looked  upon  the 
conflicts  of  Calvin  in  Geneva.  They  are  the  full 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  575. 


294  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

faces  of  the  men  of  the  world — Epicureans  they 
are  called  by  our  earnest  warrior  for  the  honour  of 
God* — by  whom  every  hindrance  in  the  way  of  the 
ordinary  comfortable  life  is  counted  an  offence,  and 
who  will  be  limited  in  their  pleasures  by  no  dis- 
cipline based  upon  the  Word  of  God.  These  people 
were  present  also  in  large  numbers  in  East  Fries- 
land,  emboldened  by  the  disorder  and  licence  of 
recent  years  in  the  ecclesiastical  domain,  and  con- 
firmed in  their  views  by  the  doings  at  the  neigh- 
bouring court  of  the  Netherlands.  Incapable  of 
proceeding  with  serious  solid  weapons  against  those 
who,  in  the  power  of  true  faith,  fight  the  good  fight, 
they  become  the  willing,  and  therefore  not  unsus- 
pecting, attendants  at  the  disposal  of  those  who, 
from  earnest  conscientious  conviction,  believe  them- 
selves bound  to  couch  the  lance  against  such  regula- 
tions. 

Such  opponents  likewise  arose  for  our  friend.  So 
long  as  we  are  not  convinced  of  the  contrary  by 
distinct  testimonies,  we  refrain  in  connection  with 
these  opponents  from  calling  in  question  the  sincerity 
of  their  convictions  ;  however,  greatly,  even  to  the 
present  day,  we  bewail  the  conflict,  for  the  sake  of 
the  Evangelical  Church.  We  have  already  more 
than  once  referred  to  the  different  ecclesiastical 
currents  which  had  found  a  way  for  themselves  in 
the  little  land  during  the  most  recent  years,  and 
that  even  in  the  changes  of  its  political  destiny. 
The  Luneburg  period,  with  its  zeal  for  enforcing 
the  pure  Lutheran  doctrine,  had  not  passed  away 
entirely  without  a  trace  ;  in  one  or  other  Church  a 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  574. 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      295 

pastor  had  remained  who  was  a  faithful  adherent 
of  Wittenberg,  and  felt  himself  conscientiously 
bound  to  enforce  his  view  from  the  pulpit  and  in 
society,  apart  from  the  question  whether  quite  a 
different  tendency  had  been  followed  by  his  pre- 
decessor and  favoured  during  past  years  by  the 
congregation.  No  fixed  Church  order  prevented 
such  undertakings.  So  long  as  the  mild  operation 
of  the  Wittenberg  Concord  continued  in  the  German 
lands,  the  divergent  tendency  did  not  appear  in  a 
harsh  form  in  East  Friesland  either.  But,  owing 
to  Liither's  hostile  bearing  in  his  last  days,  the 
unhappy  controversy  on  the  Sacrament,  which  for 
a  time  had  only  glowed  in  its  embers,  was  now 
stirred  up  to  fresh  vigour,  and  the  lurid  gleam  shone 
forth  on  every  side.  Even  in  East  Friesland  those 
who  travelled  in  the  old  Luneburg  ruts  felt  them- 
selves called  upon  to  come  forward  as  guardians 
of  the  imperilled  doctrine,  and  to  proceed  against 
the  new  presbyterial  constitution.  Their  spokesman 
was  the  preacher  Lemsius  in  Norden,  a  native  of 
Antwerp,  who  had  come  into  the  land  in  the  Lune- 
burg days  (1536),  and  had  occupied  the  pulpit, 
whence  a  decade  before  had  resounded  the  above- 
mentioned  "  Song  of  the-  Supper,"  *  of  Hendrik 
Rese,  the  preacher  there,  or,  as  his  congregation 
liked  better  to  call  him,  "  the  Norden  evangelist." 
Three  or  four  other  pastorates,  as  Aurich,  Strick- 
haunse,  Friedeburg,  Brockmer,j"  joined  the  zealous 
opponent.  At  first  these  pastors  resolutely  refused 
to  join  in  the  Coetus ;  then  they  proceeded  to  an 
open  attack  upon  the  doctrine  of  Laski,  who  was 

*  Compare  p.  229. 

t  Bertram,  Historia  Critica  Joh.  a  Lasco,  p.  209. 


296  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

cried  down  as  a  Sacramentarian,  a  very  significant 
party  cry  in  those  days  of  excitement.  An  injunc- 
tion from  the  ruler  was  issued  to  the  negligent 
pastors,  requiring  them  to  attend  the  Coetus.  To 
this,  however,  the  malcontents  did  not  yield  obe- 
dience. They  knew  that  they  could  count  upon  no 
small  number  of  adherents  among  the  courtiers  of 
such  as  were  dissatisfied  with  the  Church  discipline, 
who  would  afford  them  the  desired  support  in  their 
opposition  to  the  irksome  and  so  serious  discipli- 
narian. The  controversy  was  further  prolonged 
in  writing ;  unfortunately  the  documents  relating 
thereto  have  been  lost.  As  to  the  form  in  which 
this  controversy  was  conducted  by  A  Lasco  we  have 
many  a  fine  proof  in  the  numerous  passages  from 
letters  of  those  days.  Only  one  instance  here. 
He  writes  thus  to  his  friend  Bullinger  at  the  most 
trying  hour  of  these  assaults  :  "  Pellican's  son  has 
seen  here  the  form  of  our  Church  life,  not  yet  re- 
duced to  order  ;  and  has  a  witness  of  the  passionate 
opposition  of  some  who  venture  to  introduce  con- 
fusion into  the  harmony  of  our  doctrine.  I  believe 
that  such  people  have  been  associated  with  us  in 
order  to  exercise  us,  and  to  render  us  apt  to  defend 
the  true  doctrine.  We  seek  to  overcome  our 
antagonists  so  far  as  possible  by  kindness  and 
patience,  and  implore  for  them  a  better  percep- 
tion."* 

But  Laski  was  inexorable  where  it  was  with  him 
a  question  of  the  central  point  of  his  doctrine.  He 
knew  well  that,  by  the  men  of  the  world  in  particular, 
his  demand  for  Church  discipline  was  most  reluctantly 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  595. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN"  EAST  FRIESLAND.      297 

endured.  "  The  real  ground  of  all  attacks,  I  know, 
is  no  other  than  that  those  who  till  now  thought 
they  could  indulge  in  anything  they  liked,  without 
any  law,  will  not  now  submit  to  be  censured  and 
called  to  order  by  us.  And  yet  this  must  be  done, 
if  I  am  to  be  true  to  my  office.  That  which  is, 
however,  for  me  the  most  certain  of  all,  is  that  I  am 
the  servant  of  Christ,  against  whom  the  world  and 
the  devil  make  their  attacks  with  so  much  eagerness  ; 
and  I  thank  God  my  Father,  through  Jesus  Christ 
my  Redeemer,  that  He  places  me  in  such  a  school ; 
and  I  pray  Him  only  that  He  will  enable  me, 
whether  in  life  or  in  death,  to  glorify  His  name."  * 
To  his  friend  Hermann  Lent/tins,  secretary  to  the 
Countess,  he  pours  out  his  overcharged  heart  during 
this  most  troublous  time  in  fine  and  manly  lines  : 
"  My  Hermann  !  I  must  almost  think  it  is  out  ot 
hatred  to  me  that  I  am  not  suffered  to  make  any 
progress  in  the  Church  domain.  For  what  in  all 
the  world  has  been  advanced  during  the  whole  time 
of  my  holding  office,  save  a  greater  unity  in  doctrine  ? 
And  now  some  undertake,  as  I  hear,  to  bring  this 
again  into  confusion.  If  the  Countess  or  the 
magistrates  or  any  one  else  deems  me  to  be  useless 
or  unfaithful  in  my  office,  let  such  an  one  only  say 
to  me  the  single  word,  Lay  it  down  !  If  the  Countess 
has  not  the  matter  at  heart,  and  she  thinks  that  it 
belongs  not  to  her  office  to  advance  true  religion 
within  her  territory,  what  need  has  she  of  my  service  ? 
Truly  I  will  not  be  the  servant  of  these  magistrates, 
whom  I  see  devoid  of  all  piety.  I  had  set  my  hope 
upon  the  Countess,  who  also  has  detained  me  here  ; 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  588. 


298  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

but  even  her  I  see  relaxing,  and  if  she  does  not  soon 
manifest  other  proofs  of  her  zeal  for  religion,  I  shall 
be  compelled  to  believe  that  which  I  would  fain 
not  believe.  I,  at  least,  my  Hermann,  will  not  be 
a  contemned  minister  of  the  Word  of  God.  If  others 
will  tolerate  in  their  office  that  the  dignity  of  the 
Word  of  God  be  exposed  to  contempt,  I  must  indeed 
endure  this  ;  but  that,  out  of  hostility  to  me,  the 
authority  of  the  Word  of  God  in  my  ministry  be 
despised,  I  cannot  in  truth  endure.  Is  it  not  a 
disgrace  that  I  cannot  get  a  just  consideration  to  be 
had  for  the  poor,  or  obtain  the  removal  of  the  images, 
the  worship  of  which  we  have  to  witness  with  our 
own  eyes,  as  in  mockery  of  our  administration  ? 
Our  business  is,  so  I  hear,  only  to  preach.  To  this 
I  reply,  that  we  have  not  at  all  to  preach  to  swine 
and  dogs,  i.e.  people  who  vomit  anywhere  their 
ill-digested  food.  Through  all  these  years  there 
has  been  preaching  ;  what  result  of  that  preaching 
can  now  be  pointed  out  ?  We  see  practised,  after 
as  before,  the  open  abominable  idolatry  of  the 
monks  ;  and  no  one  is  permitted  to  interfere  with 
it.  We  see  every  kind  of  Church  discipline  abolished 
and  suppressed.  We  see  almost  everything  plundered 
and  scattered  which  was  destined  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  public  ministry  and  to  the  encouragement  of 
study.  We  see  an  asylum  for  all  sects  ;  the  gnats 
among  them  we  have  pursued,  the  wasps  and  hornets 
we  feed,  and  the  ravens  we  leave  unmolested.  Nay, 
we  see  such  leniency  towards  vice,  that  he  who  only 
lives  a  little  more  continently  is  looked  upon  as  a 
sectary.  These  are  the  visible  fruits  of  the  Gospel 
now  already  so  long  preached  among  us,  and  yet 
it  is  still  constantly  said  to  us,  '  Only  preach.'  We 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      299 

are  to  teach — so  I  am  told — that  the  images  are  no 
idols.  But  shall  we  advance  this  to  those  who  make 
the  weal  of  the  fatherland  turn  upon  the  preserving 
or  the  removal  of  the  idols  ?  What  greater  idolatry 
is  there  than  the  tenet  that  everything  is  secure  so 
long  as  the  images  are  retained,  but  that  the  country 
goes  to  ruin  when  they  are  removed  ?  Can  the 
images  effect  so  much,  that  their  preservation  is  our 
protection,  their  removal  our  ruin  ?  Is  not  all  this 
impiety,  nay  blasphemy  ?  And  in  connection  with 
this,  still  to  assert  that  no  one  worships  the  images  ! 
If  that  is  not  to  worship  them,  what  in  the  world 
is  image-worship  ?  But  I  must  close  ;  nor  can  I 
say  more  for  sadness  of  heart  and  weakness  of  body. 
But  this  I  could  wish,  my  Hermann,  that  thoU 
wouldst  admonish  the  Countess  in  a  private  interview, 
and  that  right  earnestly,  regarding  her  duty.  For 
this  is  settled  with  regard  to  me  :  if  I  do  not  see 
other  signs  of  piety  in  the  Countess,  you  will  not 
much  longer  have  me."  * 

Our  warrior  was  thoroughly  in  earnest  with  this 
threat.  He  waited  patiently  for  a  few  more  months  ; 
but  as  he  observed  in  the  pastors  neither  the  unity 
of  doctrine  for  which  he  had  laboured,  nor  the 
maintenance  of  any  kind  of  discipline  among  them- 
selves, and  also  found  the  magistrates  slothful  in 
this  respect,  he  laid  down  his  office  of  superintend- 
ent at  the  spring  of  the  year  I546,t  remaining  but 
as  simple  pastor  of  the  great  Church  at  Emden,  and 
this  only  upon  condition  that  he  should  be  allowed 
perfect  freedom  of  action  there.  This  state  of 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  596. 

t  It  must  have  been  at  the  end  of  February  or  beginning 
of  March.     Compare  Kuyper,  ii.  602. 


300  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

matters  certainly  could  not  last  long.  Everybody 
knew  what  a  serious  loss  the  Church  had  suffered 
by  this  resignation.  It  had  just  begun  to  gain 
strength,  to  enjoy  the  abundant  blessing  of  such 
vigorous  oversight ;  and  now  the  tried  hand  was 
wanting  at  the  helm.  As  early  as  the  month  of 
May  negotiations  are  opened.  Only  if  there  is  a 
willingness  to  follow  the  Lord  with  both  feet — in 
this  case  alone  will  our  friend,  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  serve  the  Church  of  the  land.  By  the  middle 
of  June  the  negotiations  had  been  brought  to  a  pro- 
sperous conclusion  ;  *  silence  was  imposed  by  the 
Countess  upon  the  passionate  opponent  Lemsius ; 
participation  in  the  Coetus  was  enjoined  upon  all 
the  ministry,  under  pain  of  deposition  ;  no  preacher 
could  be  inducted  into  his  office  without  having 
by  his  subscription  given  consent  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church.  The  malcontents  bowed  to  the 
stern  edict  of  authority ;  they  were  not  disposed  to 
pay  for  their  views  the  price  of  the  resignation  of 
their  office.  Neither  had  they,  it  is  true,  any  wish 
to  make  a  full  surrender.  That  which  was  refused 
them  in  the  land  they  sought  to  obtain  by  means 
of  pressure  from  without.  From  Bremen,  Hamburg, 
Brunswick,  and  Wittenberg,  still  mourning  over  the 
new-closed  grave  of  Luther,  they  collected  verdicts 
against  the  Reformational  work  of  Laski.  Without 
effect.  "  The  truth  is  unconquerable,  and  yields 
not  to  human  wisdom,  even  though  the  whole  world 
should  sink  in  ruins  "  (etiamsi  fractu s  illabatur  orbis), 
writes  our  friend  to  his  classically  educated  Harden- 
foyg-.f 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  607.  f  Ibid.,  608. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIES  LAND.      301 


The  report  of  that  which  the  Church  of  East 
Friesland,  under  the  oversight  of  A  Lasco,  strove 
after,  and  gradually  became,  spread  far  and  wide, 
and,  among  other  places,  to  Geneva.  With  lively 
interest,  Calvin  was  witness  of  a  development  which 
was  so  closely  akin  to  his  own  endeavours.  He 
had  received  intelligence  of  the  formation  of  the 
Coetus ;  some  ministers  belonging  to  it  had  invited 
him  to  write  a  Catechism  for  youth  ;  the  Genevan 
Reformer  complied  with  the  request,  and  dedicated 
his  Catechism  to  the  ministers  of  East  Friesland.* 
Within  wide  circles  men  spoke  with  warm  ap- 

*  Compare  Calvin,  vi.  7.  The  date  of  the  printed  dedication 
is  December,  1545  ;  in  a  MS.  form  it  was  received  in  Emden 
as  early  as  July,  1545,  as  Laski's  friend  Gerard,  at  Camph, 
writes  to  Bullinger  (compare  Calvin,  xii.  154).  The  need  of 
a  Catechism  was  at  once  felt  as  soon  as  Laski  had  begun  to 
accomplish  his  work  of  reformation  ;  the  unfavourable  judg- 
ment on  his  Epitome,  sent  out  only  in  manuscript,  had  made 
him  hesitate  about  proceeding  at  once  to  the  publication  of  so 
great  a  work  (how  great  a  work  it  was  in  the  estimation  of  the 
Reformers  is  admirably  illustrated  in  Calvin's  dedicating  his 
Catechism  to  the  ministers  of  East  Friesland,  as  though  he 
would  encourage  A  Lasco  to  lay  aside  his  hesitation) ;  Calvin's 
Catechism  was  now  presented,  not  indeed  to  fill  up  the  blank 
so  painfully  felt, — for  no  evidence  exists  to  show  that  it  was 
intended  to  introduce  this  Catechism  to  East  Friesland — but 
perhaps  to  serve  as  a  pattern  in  the  preparing  of  one  of 
their  own.  Calvin's  Catechism  may  serve  as  an  evidence  to 
what  extent  even  main  points  of  doctrine  must  recede  into 
the  background  when  we  have  to  lead  youth  of  tender  age, 
in  accordance  with  their  capacity,  into  the  truth  of  salvation. 
Calvin  sought  by  the  publication  of  this  Catechism  to  efface 
the  remembrance  of  his  Catechism  of  1537  ;  in  this  he  was 
so  successful  that  the  indefatigable  explorers  Reuss  and 
Baum  could  discover  no  copy  of  the  French  original  for  their 
standard  edition  of  Calvin's  works.  Only  in  1878,  by  a  piece 
of  good  fortune,  a  copy  was  brought  to  light  in  the  National 
Library  at  Paris,  the  reprint  of  which  has  been  enriched  by 
excellent  introductions  on  the  part  of  Albert  Rilliet  and 
Theophile  Dufour  (Le  Catechisme  Fran^ais  de  Calvin 
(Geneve,  1878),  pp.  cclxxxvii.  and  143). 


302  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

probation  of  that  which  was  done  in  East  Friesland  ; 
the  Church  there  exerted  a  strong  power  of  attraction, 
specially  upon  the  neighbouring  lands  ;  and  just 
the  flower  of  the  younger  energies  desired  to  be 
received  into  the  communion  of  this  Church.* 

4.  THE  REFORMER  IN  HIS  PRIVATE  LIFE  IN 
EAST  FRIESLAND. 

They  are  but  scanty  accounts  which  we  have 
been  able  to  glean  regarding  the  private  life  of  our 
friend,  with  difficulty,  and  often  from  quite  out-of-the- 
way  places.  In  those  days  people  were  very  sparing 
of  such  communications  ;  behind  the  mighty  events 
upon  the  world's  stage  the  private  life  even  of  the 
most  prominent  actors  retired  into  a  modest 
background  ;  their  home,  however  dear  and  cherished 
it  might  be  to  them,  appeared  to  the  men  themselves 
too  little  for  becoming  the  subject  of  much  talk, 
"as  compared  with  the  sublime  tasks  of  their  public 
life.  Only  here  and  there  at  best  a  hurried  notice, 
almost  as  by  accident,  in  a  private  letter  to  a  friend  ; 
and  then  generally  occurring  in  so  cursory  and 
disconnected  a  form,  as  to  fail  to  satisfy  the  larger 
claims  of  our  time  which  are  made  in  this  respect 
also.  This  is  no  reproach  against  that  great  age, 
only  a  regret  at  the  perhaps  excessive  demands  of 
our  own  day. 

We  know  already  that  in  the  history  of  A  Lasco,  as 
of  others,  the  first  public  indication  of  his  final  rup- 
ture with  the  Romish  Church  was  marriage,  in  his 
case  with  a  burgher's  daughter  of  Louvain,  whose 
maiden  name  is  unknown  to  us.  That  step,  so  eventful 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  595 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      303 

for  the  Evangelical  Church,  was  taken  by  almost 
all  the  Reformers  and  preachers  of  the  Gospel  ;  the 
beginnings  of  the  evangelical  parsonage,  and  therewith 
the  sources  of  a  deep  and  abundant  blessing  for  the 
whole  Church  life  of  after-ages,  stand  quite  close  to 
the  rise  of  the  Reformation,  and  are  most  intimately 
connected  with  its  whole  character.  This  bond 
of  plighted  fidelity  lasted  only  twelve  years.  In 
1551  there  appeared  in  London  the  first  traces  of 
consumption,  probably  a  consequence  of  that  putrid 
fever  which  so  fearfully  raged  about  this  time  in  the 
city  of  the  Thames.  A  year  later  the  sufferer  suc- 
cumbed to  her  ailments  in  a  distant  land.  A  Lasco 
loved  her  tenderly  ;  her  decease  deeply  crushed  him  ; 
the  grief  for  her  imperilled  for  a  moment  his  own 
health,  at  best  but  delicate.  He  calls  her  the 
other  part  of  himself,  which  death  has  snatched  from 
his  side  ;  and  praises  at  once  her  piety  and  the 
integrity  of  her  whole  character.  * 

The  marriage  union  had  been  richly  blessed  with 
children  ;  his  first  child,  the  little  daughter  Barbara, 
we  have  already  saluted  on  a  visit  to  her  grand- 
parents ;  •]"  in  1558  we  meet  with  her  again,  this 
time  in  Cracow ;  she  and  her  younger  sister 
Ludovica  were  then  both  betrothed.  J  Greatly 
gladdened  was  A  Lasco  in  1546  by  the  birth  of  a 
son.  After  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  year  the 
child  died,  at  a  time  of  great  physical  suffering  on 
the  part  of  our  friend.  "  He  has  gone  beforehand 
to  Christ,  and  we  shall  soon  follow  him,  if  God 
will  ;  for  my  sickness  is  to  me  a  sure  sign  that  I 
have  to  forsake  my  dwelling-place  here  upon  earth, 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  675.  t  Compare  p.  217. 

|  Gerdes,  iii.  140. 


304  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

in  order  shortly,  as  I  hope,  to  be  with  Christ."  * 
There  remained  to  him  two  sons  of  this  wife,  John 
and  Jerome^  in  whose  names,  as  in  those  of  his  two 
daughters,  are  preserved  loving  family  memories  of 
home.  When  the  two  youths  had  so  far  advanced 
as  to  stand  in  need  of  a  thorough  education,  he  took 
into  his  house  an  able  tutor,  Wingius  (Godfried  van 
Wingen).f  At  the  time  of  the  shameful  expulsion 
from  Denmark  of  which  we  shall  afterwards  have  to 
speak,  these  two  youths,  with  their  tutor,  were  nearly 
losing  their  lives  in  the  ice-packs  ;  having  been  at 
first  allowed  the  right  of  wintering  in  Denmark  on 
account  of  their  tender  age,  but  afterwards,  in  the 
midst  of  the  severe  frost,  being  obliged  to  share  the 
lot  of  the  others. 

When  A  Lasco  removed  with  his  young  wife  from 
Lou  vain  to  Emden  in  1540,  he  dwelt  during  the 
first  years  in'  a  private  house.  He  did  not  think 
that  his  enfeebled  bodily  condition  would  be  equal 
to  bearing  for  a  permanence  the  discomforts  of  the 
damp,  raw  climate  in  these  storm-lashed  flats  of  the 
Ems,  combined  with  the  dreariness  of  the  humble, 
almost  indigent  dwellings  ;  and  for  a  long  time  he 
was  on  the  point  of  removing  to  a  more  healthful 
region.  But  none  presented  itself  which  would  have 
offered  the  same  fair  assured  right  of  asylum  for  his 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  609. 

t  See  Bishop  Grindal's  testimony  to  this  faithful  and 
learned  man  in  his  letter  to  the  magistrates  of  Frankfort,  i2th 
November,  1561  (Remains,  p.  250).  We  find  Wingius  after  his 
return  from  England  and  Denmark  again  in  Emden,  whence 
(1558)  he  sends  his  greetings  to  A  Lasco's  "most  sweet 
children."  He  is  at  Frankfort  in  1561,  and  succeeds  P. 
Deloenus  as  pastor  of  the  Dutch  Church,  London,  in  1563.  Two 
interesting  letters  from  him  in  the  Appendix  to  Pyper's  Jan 
Utenhove,  Leyden,  1883. — TR. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      305 

faith.  As  soon  as  he  had  at  length  yielded  to 
the  requests  and  become  superintendent  of  the  land, 
a  place  of  residence  was  assigned  to  him  in  the 
Franciscan  cloister,  which  by  its  solid  walls  could 
afford  him  better  defence  against  storm  and  cold. 
In  the  conflicts  of  the  first  years  he  often  felt  as 
though  he  would  have  to  quit  the  land,  and  every 
thought  of  acquiring  a  home  of  his  own  remained 
foreign  to  him,  But  when  the  last  grave  attack  of 
the  opponents,  with  a  view  to  driving  him  from  his 
office,  was  victoriously  repelled,  and  therewith  was 
presented  a  better-founded  hope  of  his  continuance 
in  the  land,  he  resolved — it  was  in  the  autumn  of 
1546 — to  purchase  for  himself  a  small  country 
estate  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Emden. 

Not  far  from  the  road  which  leads  from  Emden 
to  Aurich,  close  to  Loppersum,  lies  the  farmstead 
of  Abbingwehr,  a  simple  country-house,  with  out- 
lying arable  and  pasture  land.  Four  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  was  the  price  of  the  estate.*  A  Lasco 
was  unable  to  pay  down  the  whole  purchase  money 
himself.  We  know  that  though  born  and  educated 
amidst  the  most  brilliant  surroundings,  he  quitted 
his  Church  and  country  in  poverty.  A  small  legacy 
had  indeed  come  to  him  from  his  brother  ;  but  this 
too  had  been  curtailed,  by  the  dishonesty  of  a  rela- 
tive, to  such  an  extent  that  at  most  barely  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  remained  to  him.  "What  shall  I 


*  Kuyper,  ii.  609.  What  the  size  of  the  estate  was  can  no 
longer  be  determined  from  existing  accounts ;  the  relative 
value  may  perhaps  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  about  that 
time  (1545)  a  hundred  and  fifty  to  a  hundred  and  seventy 
pairs  of  oxen  could  have  been  purchased  for  this  sum  ;  i.e.,  a 
pair  of  oxen  was  worth  twenty-six  to  thirty  dollars.  Compare 
Klopp, Geschichte  Ostfrieslands  (Hanover,  1854),  i.,  p.  411. 

2O 


306  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

do  ? "  he  exclaimed  at  the  intelligence.  "  I  will 
say  with  Job,  '  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath 
taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.' " 
He  was  thus  obliged  to  take  up  a  loan,  in  order  to 
meet  the  required  amount.  After  much  toil  and 
trouble,  the  matter  was  so  arranged  that  there  should 
be  several  joint  purchasers,  in  relation  to  whom  he 
reserved  only  the  privilege  of  freeing  himself  from 
their  claim  by  the  subsequent  buying  up  of  their 
shares.  Here,  upon  his  pleasant  little  estate,  he 
now  began  to  feel  at  home.  The  country  air,  the 
residence  in  the  open  grounds,  the  more  consider- 
able activity,  proved  beneficial  to  his  enfeebled 
health.  During  the  last  period  of  his  stay  in  the 
town  he  suffered  so  painfully  from  his  old  disorder, 
in  the  midst  of  the  most  arduous  conflicts,  that  in 
May,  1546,  he  was  nearly  blinded  by  a  disease  of 
the  eyes  ;  even  after  this  was  relieved,  everything 
was,  as  it  were,  veiled  in  mist.  A  year  after  his 
becoming  a  landed  proprietor  his  health  was  so 
greatly  improved,  that  in  the  cold  winter  days  he 
was  a  few  times  able  to  make  his  way  home  from 
the  town  on  foot.  The  faithful  companion  in  life 
at  home  looked  after  the  greatly  augmented 
domestic  affairs.  In  dairy  matters  she  is  well 
versed  ;  a  jar  of  butter  and  some  home-made  cheese 
are  set  before  the  old  friend  of  the  family,  now 
become  a  pastor  in  Bremen  ;  *  it  would  seem  that 
the  diligent  housewife  was  wont  to  send  to  market 
the  produce  of  the  field  and  the  work  of  the  spin- 
ning-wheel, and  thus  helped  to  wipe  out  the  debt 
still  burdening  the  estate.  Quite  joyfully  and 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  617. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      307 


pleasantly  does  A  Lasco  subscribe  his  letters  from 
his  country  homestead,  "  ex  regno  nostro  Abbing- 
weerensi " — "  from  our  kingdom  of  Abbingwehr." 

Our  A  Lasco  was  not  indeed  very  well  adapted 
for  a  life  of  parsimony.  This  would  present  a  two- 
fold difficulty  for  a  Pole,  accustomed  from  childhood 
to  a  careless  liberality,  and  our  friend  did  not  deny 
his  nationality  in  this  respect  either.  Even  amidst 
the  greatly  altered  circumstances  which  afforded 
him  only  a  scanty  revenue,  considering  his  growing 
family,  he  did  not  forego  his  noble  unselfishness, 
his  large-hearted  generosity.  His  old  friend  Har- 
denberg  was  dilatory  in  the  repayment  of  a  debt. 
"  So  I  send  you  twenty  additional  dollars,"  our  Laski 
writes  to  him  ;  "  more  I  have  not  at  this  moment  in 
hand.  If  you  should  pay  us  a  visit,  we  will  arrange 
about  the  necessary  reckoning.  If  I  hear  that  you 
have  become  rich,  I  will  demand  of  you  what  you 
owe  me.  But  if  not,  I  will  add  other  gifts."  *  He 
confidingly  furnished  a  noble  with  letters  of  recom- 
mendation to  persons  in  Switzerland,  and  particularly 
to  Calvin.  These  letters  were  basely  abused,  and 
employed  for  the  extortion  of  money.  As  soon  as 
A  Lasco  receives  intelligence  thereof,  he  declares 
himself  ready  to  make  good  the  amount.  "  Be 
assured,"  he  writes  to  Calvin,  "  that  it  would  be  in 
a  high  degree  matter  of  thankfulness  to  me  if  I 
might  in  any  way  help  to  diminish  this  loss  to  you  ; 
let  me  know,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  our  fraternal 
love  and  mutual  candour.  ...  I  can  more  easily 
bear  that  the  hypocrite  has  deceived  me,  than  that 
he  abuses  my  name  and  even  my  handwriting  for 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  577. 


3o8  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

the  deception  of  others  ;  I  cannot  say  how  much 
it  pains  me."  ' 

With  this  amiable  unselfishness  went  hand  in 
hand  a  touching  humility  in  his  estimate  of  himself. 
The  fine  confession  is  one  of  perfect  sincerity  when 
he  says,  "  I  make  so  bold  as  to  serve  the  Church 
with  my  little  talent,  and  implore  the  mercy  of  God, 
that  among  all  the  great  offerings  of  others,  He  will 
deign  also  not  to  despise  my  little  sacrifice,  after  the 
example  of  that  widow  in  the  Gospel." 

All  these  traits  of  his  character,  and  those  others 
also  which  would  well  deserve  to  be  brought  into 
relief,  were  with  him  transformed  and  consecrated, 
nay  even  first  attained  to  their  full  and  fair  develop- 
ment, by  his  entire  self-surrender  to  Christ  as  his 
Saviour.  This  imparts  to  him  the  free,  joyful 
courage  in  the  presence  of  all  men  ;  this  confers 
upon  him  the  calmness  and  independence  in  all 
the  heavy  afflictions  of  his  changeful  life.  From 
this  lofty  and  secure  watchtower,  that  Christ  for 
him  was  alone  his  Master,  and  the  Word  of  God 
the  only,  but  also  the  absolute  rule  of  his  life,  of 
his  whole  thinking,  he  looked  forth  more  dispas- 
sionately than  so  many  a  contemporary  upon  the 
high-running  waves  of  the  conflicts  of  the  day, 
not  as  an  idle  spectator,  who  from  a  protected  spot 
witnesses  the  strife,  but  rather  with  the  sacred  and 
earnest  desire,  so  far  as  in  him  lies,  to  contribute 
to  the  ending  of  it,  that  only  Christ  and  His  kingdom 
may  be  advanced.  A  group  of  attractive  forms 
arises  about  this  time,  whose  whole  noble  endeavour 
is  directed  to  the  filling  up  of  the  yawning  gap  in 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  650,  654. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      309 

the  Evangelical  Church  ;  we  know  hardly  one 
among  these  heroes  who  would  seem  to  occupy  a 
more  amiable,  and  at  the  same  time  a  more 
prominent  position  in  such  precious  work,  than 
he.  With  piercing  glance — the  subsequent  events 
will  afford  many  a  significant  proof  of  this — he 
perceived  the  deep  injuries  of  the  division  in  the 
one  Church  of  the  Reformation  ;  in  the  case  of  no 
other  in  the  progress  of  his  particular  experience 
of  life  did  the  sword  of  this  separation  penetrate 
the  breast  more  deeply  than  for  him,  when  he  saw 
his  most  ardent  longing  for  the  Church  and  his 
fatherland  suffer  shipwreck  upon  this  rock  ;  and 
yet  he  did  not  wish  for  peace  at  any  price.  He 
was  closely  akin  in  his  peaceful  disposition  to  his 
friend,  the  noble  Bucer,  in  Strassburg  ;  but  he  could 
not  always  join  hands  with  the  busy  man  in  his 
incessant  activity  for  discovering  formulas,  for  put- 
ting together  words  better  adapted  for  a  momentary 
covering  of  the  breach  than  for  its  permanent 
removal.  "  For  the  terminating  of  this  conflict  in 
doctrine,  for  peace  within  the  Church " — thus  he 
can  write  to  a  friend  with  full  conviction  at  a  time 
when  he  had  to  endure  the  most  grievous  vexation 
at  the  hands  of  confessional  Hotspurs — "  I  am  and 
was  always  so  greatly  concerned  as  to  yield  to  no 
one  in  this,  but  yet  only  in  such  wise  that  the 
truth  may  come  to  light,  not  that  it  may  be 
obscured,  or,  out  of  desire  of  pleasing  men,  in  any 
wise  distorted.  I  will  not,  so  far  as  I  have  any 
power,  for  the  gratification  of  men  be  excluded  from 
the  number  of  the  servants  of  Christ."* 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  699. 


3io  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

Characteristic    of   this    his    noble  disposition   are 
the  judgments  he  has   pronounced    here  and  there 
upon  the  heroes  of  the  day.      Only  one  or  two  of 
these  out  of  a  rich  abundance.     A  Lasco  had  spent 
his  whole  time  beyond  the  influence   of  immediate 
contact    with    Luther.       The    impressions    received 
during  the  social   life   with  Erasmus  in   Basle  may 
long  have  dominated  his  judgment  as  respects  this 
heroic  form    of   the  German   Reformer  ;  and    when 
then  in  ripe  years  he  himself  entered  upon  the  work, 
it  was,  as  it  were,  naturally  ordered  that  he  should 
follow  that  section  of  the  Church  to  which  the  con- 
tinued development  of  the  Reformational  thoughts 
had    fallen  as  a    fair  inheritance.      From    the    year 
1543  forward,  the  Evangelical  Church  of  the  Refor- 
mation held  its  further  progress  of  conquest  in  the 
direction  pointed  out  and  opened  up  by  Calvin.     Our 
friend    likewise,  in   an    independent    spirit,  followed 
this  tendency.      But  he   warns   those   of  like   spirit 
not    to  allow  a  just  judgment    to  be    obscured  by 
partisanship.      How  fine  is  his  request  to  Bullinger, 
whose  doctrine  had  just  been   condemned  again   in 
a  most  vehement  and  painful  onslaught  by  Luther^ 
as  he  kindled  afresh    the  Sacramental  controversy. 
"  In     glancing     through     your     Confession " — it     is 
the    answer    of   the    Zuricher    to    the     Brief    Con- 
fession of  Dr.   Martin    Luther  concerning   the  Holy 
Sacrament — "  I  have  found  a  more  bitter  language 
against   Luther   than    I    could   have  wished.      I   do 
not    deny    that   Luther    has  given    way    too   much 
to    vituperations    against    you,    and    has     far    over- 
stepped   the    bounds   of   Christian    love ;    but    such 
things   must  be   pardoned  him    on    account   of   his 
prominent  merits  in  regard  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      311 

and  in  order  that  we  be  not  dashed  upon  the  same 
stone  which  we  censure  in  Luther.  It  was  enough 
to  have  shown  the  error  which  you  have  in  my 
judgment  fully  brought  out ;  but  there  was  no  need 
for  this  purpose  of  invective,  by  which  we  effect 
nothing  save  to  bring  the  doctrine  and  ministry 
of  the  Gospel  in  our  congregations  into  ill  savour 
with  the  opponents.  In  my  opinion  it  would  have 
been  enough  to  say,  '  Here  Luther  is  in  error/  or 
something  similar,  which  defends  our  innocence 
if  it  wins  assent,  and  still  leaves  the  name  and 
honour  of  the  others  unassailed." ''  Accordingly 
when,  a  few  months  later,  the  tidings  of  the  departure 
of  that  great  man  reach  him,  our  friend  writes 
to  the  Swiss  that  he  hopes — alas !  how  was  he 
deceived  in  this  hope,  to  his  own  deepest  sorrow, 
to  the  most  bitter  experience  in  after-times — that 
after  the  decease  of  Luther  an  end  to  the  Sacramental 
controversy  would  be  brought  about,  "j" 

Melanchthon  had  already  shown  in  the  altered 
Augsburg  Confession,  whose  wording  upon  the 
decisive  point  Luther  had  tacitly  allowed,  what  a 
powerful  influence  Calvin  had  exerted  upon  him, 
particularly  since  Calvin's  personal  interview  with 
him  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main  in  1539.  The  com- 
panion of  Luther  thereby  also  approached  nearer 
in  spirit  to  A  Lasco.  We  have,  it  is  true,  already 
noticed  his  censure  of  that  writing  of  A  Lasco' s  ;  + 
this,  nevertheless,  did  not  prevent  the  two  men 
finding  ever  more  intimate  points  of  contact  the 
longer  they  knew  each  other,  to  the  enhancement 
of  their  mutual  esteem.  In  1543  A  Lasco  writes 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  595.      t  Ibid.,  ii.  603.      \  See  p.  280,  note. 


3i2  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

to  the  venerated  man,  "The  longer  I  contemplate 
the  many  and  distinguished  gifts  of  God  bestowed 
upon  thee,  the  more  do  I  judge  that  thou  art  the 
only  one  to  whom  I  can  pour  out  what  of  doubts 
arises  in  my  heart.  And  I  will  do  so,  as  with 
the  greatest  confidence,  so  also  with  the  greatest 
candour,  in  the  hope  that,  as  I  confidently  believe, 
thou  wilt,  according  to  thy  kindly  sentiment  and 
Christian  love,  give  good  counsel."*  Ten  years  later, 
after  many  disappointing  experiences  in  connection 
with  the  wavering  man,  his  judgment  sounds  less 
favourable  :  "  I  recognise  Philip  [Melanchthon]  in 
that  proceeding,  which  is  like  him.  I  esteem  his 
learning,  I  acknowledge  his  piety,  I  commend  his 
modesty  ;  but  I  can  bestow  no  approval  upon  his 
timid  spirit  "  (^Kpo^v^Lav).^ 

It  would,  nevertheless,  carry  us  too  far  afield  if  we 
would  further  extend  the  anthology  of  his  pertinent 
and  moderate  testimonies  concerning  his  contem- 
poraries, kindly  withal,  even  in  regard  to  the 
opponent.;]:  In  all  he  leaves  the  impression  of  a 
man  of  fine  culture,  who  earnestly  wishes  to  do  justice 
to  each  individual,  and  is  animated  by  the  ardent 
desire  rather  for  Christ's  sake  to  lay  stress  upon  unity, 
than  to  fall  into  the  man-service  of  party. 

A  Lasco  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  ablest  among 
his  contemporaries.  Friend  and  opponent,  so  long 
as  the  opponents  were  not  wholly  blind,  paid  the 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  565. 

f  Ibid.,  p.  707. 

t  The  following-  references  may  afford  satisfaction  to  those 
seeking  further  illustration  :  on  Luther,  ii.  603  ;  on  Bullinger, 
ii.  568,585  ;  on  Erasmus,  ii.  569,  583  f . ;  on  Oecolampadius,  ii. 
576  ;  on  Schwenkfeld,  ii.  577  ;  on  Pellican,  ii-582  ;  on  Osiander, 
ii.  663,  679  ;  on  Albert  of  Brandenburg,  ii.  666. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAS7  FRIESLAND.      313 

tribute  of  a  full  and  warm  admiration  of  the  sincerity 
and  purity  of  his  character  ;  and  even  where  it  was 
indeed  right  to  refuse  assent  to  the  particular  mould- 
ing and  expression  of  his  doctrine,  men  acknowledged 
the  seriousness  and  honesty  of  the  investigation,  the 
dignity  of  the  conception,  the  fearless,  candid  language, 
the  victorious  sway  of  a  spirit  which  desires  to  be  the 
servant  of  Christ  alone.  What  he  accomplished  with 
strong  and  firm  hand  in  the  ruined  and  unruly  state 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  East  Friesland,  amidst  so 
many  passionate  attacks,  already  filled  his  con- 
temporaries with  legitimate  astonishment,  and  places 
him  for  us  in  the  foremost  rank  of  those  men  who 
have  wrought  with  transforming  effect  upon  the  life 
of  the  Evangelical  Church.  His  influence  in  this 
direction  has  not  been  effaced  to  this  hour  ;  we  have 
on  many  points  to  go  to  his  school  in  order  to  be  in 
a  position  to  render  justice  to  the  serious  demands  of 
the  present  day. 

The  attraction  of  such  a  personality  could  not  fail 
of  extending  far  beyond  the  scene  of  his  immediate 
labours,  nor  his  judgment  and  aid  of  being  sought  in 
other  lands.  We  are  not  here  speaking  of  the 
endeavour,  clearly  perceptible  as  it  was  up  to  the 
year  1544,  to  entice  him  to  his  native  land  upon  the 
condition  of  his  return  to  the  communion  of  the 
Romish  Church,  even  with  the  bait  of  a  leading  epis- 
copal see.  "  But  I  have  so  dismissed  these  people 
that  they  will  certainly  not  come  to  me  any  more 
with  this."  It  is  worthy  of  particular  notice  that 
Laski  firmly  withstood  the  tendency,  at  that  time  so 
strongly  manifesting  itself,  to  travel  hither  and  thither 
and  enforce  one's  counsel  in  the  most  diverse  places  ; 
he  can  on  a  fitting  occasion  testify  to  his  king,  Sigis- 


314  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

mund,  that  during  a  decade  of  years  he  had  not 
quitted  the  place  of  his  labour  save  when  impelled 
by  necessity,  and  had  taken  up  the  traveller's  staff 
only  when  no  possibility  of  further  working  was 
afforded  him. 

Among  the  labours  on  behalf  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  beyond  the  limits  of  East  Friesland,  which  he 
could  not  decline,  is  to  be  enumerated  in  the  front 
rank  his  residence  with  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne, 
the  Elector  Hermann  von  Wied.  An  exceedingly 
impressive  form  is  that  of  this  noble  Church  prince, 
whom  Ranke  portrays  with  master  hand  in  the  few 
strokes :  "  Hermann  of  Cologne  perceived  at  last,  as 
he  says,  that  he  made  no  progress  with  these  delibera- 
tions (which  he  held  with  his  suffragans  in  the  year 
1536)  because  all  was  based  upon  human  ordinance, 
not  upon  God's  Word.  When  afterwards  he 
approached  the  Scripture,  from  which  alone  the 
doctrine  of  godliness  is  to  be  drawn,  he  was  convinced 
that  its  sense  is  embodied  in  the  Augsburg  Confession. 
The  older  he  grew,  the  more  deeply  was  he  pene- 
trated by  the  influence  of  this  purified  doctrine.  He 
was  diligently  occupied  in  setting  it  forth  in  his  life 
and  walk.  In  the  writings  of  contemporaries  he 
appears  as  the  good,  devout  lord  of  Cologne,  as  the 
old  God-loving  Elector,  the  excellent  veteran  (he  was 
born  in  1477).  He  was  a  tall  man,  with  snowy 
beard  ;  of  venerable  appearance  ;  with  an  expression 
in  which  good-nature,  earnestness,  and  honesty  were 
prominent.  After  hesitating  for  a  time,  he  finally 
resolved  to  do  for  his  diocese  that  which,  as  he 
expresses  it,  becomes  a  man  of  God."  *  Even  from 

*  Ranke,  Deutsche  Gesch.  im  Zeitalter  der  Reformation, 
iv.,  p.  260. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      315 

1536  the  Archbishop  had  entered  into  manifold 
friendly  relations  with  Protestants,  gladly  supported 
therein  by  a  part  of  his  canons  at  Cologne.  To  the 
number  of  these  canons  still  belonged  the  brother 
of  our  Countess  Anne,  and  her  vigorous  defender 
against  the  pretensions  of  her  Catholic  brother-in-law 
— Christopher  von  Oldenburg-.*  After  the  Diet  of 
Ratisbon  (1541),  and  rapidly  availing  himself  of  the 
temper  manifested  there,  the  Elector  entrusted  to 
Bncer  and  Melanchthont  who  had  both  come  on  this 
behalf  to  Bonn,  the  drawing  up  of  a  project  of  refor- 
mation. That  which  serves  as  the  basis  for  this 
Simple  Consultation  (Bedenkcii),  as  the  title  reads, f 
is  the  Nuremberg  Church  Order  of  Andreas  Osiander. 
Bucer  elaborated  the  Consultation.  Melanchthon 
approved  of  it  in  all  its  parts.  This  unqualified 
assent  is  an  interesting  instance  of  the  manner  in 
which  Melanchthon,  even  in  the  doctrine  of  Church 
constitution  and  Church  discipline,  struck  into  the 
paths  which  had  been  trodden  by  Strassburg  and 
Switzerland  with  so  great  and  far-reaching  success. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  article  on  the  Lord's 
Supper,  to  which  Amsdorf  by  a  detailed  judgment 

*  Varrentrapp,  Hermann  von  IVied  u.  Seine  Reformations- 
versuch  in  Koln  (Leipsic,  1878),  p.  88.  This  meritorious 
work  affords  the  first  thorough  insight  into  the  interesting 
attempt  at  reformation  then  made  ;  for  our  purpose  we  could 
have  wished  for  a  greater  reference  to  the  part  taken  by  A 
Lasco  ;  the  one  slight  allusion  at  page  199  to  a  passage  in  a 
letter  of  his  is  surely  too  little. 

f  Varrentrapp,  p.  178.  \Einfaltiges  Bedenken  (1543), 
Simplex  et  Pia  Deliberatio  (Latin  version  of  1545).  Trans- 
lated into  English  1547,  and  more  correctly  in  1548.  Cranmer 
corresponded  with  the  Elector  to  the  time  of  Hermann's  death 
in  1552  (Hardwick,  History  of  the  Christian  Church  during 
the  Reformation,  p.  59  n. ;  Strype's  Cranmer  (Oxford,  1848), 
"•»  P-  397)0— TR. 


316  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

drew  the  attention  of  Ltither,  furnished  to  the  latter 
the  lamentable  occasion  for  reviving  afresh  the  Sacra- 
mental controversy,  hardly  yet  calmed  down,  and  this 
time  indeed  with  ruinous  consequences  to  the 
progress  of  the  Evangelical  Church.  Melanchthon 
passed  days  of  deep  concern,  fearing  lest  the  angry 
Reformer  should  perchance  sever  the  bond  of  com- 
munion between  the  two. 

This  attempt  at  a  peaceful  Reformation  was 
frustrated  by  the  other  clerical  members  of  the 
Cologne  chapter.  While  the  Consultation  afforded 
a  precious  incitement  in  far-off  lands,  the  opponents 
within  the  archiepiscopal  chapter  itself  succeeded 
in  nullifying  all  its  effect  at  home.  The  critical 
position  which  was  now  beginning  for  the  Protestants 
in  the  empire  was  most  decidedly  favourable  to 
their  success.  But  the  Archbishop  remained  faithful 
to  his  conviction  ;  the  evangelical  preachers,  drawn 
by  him  into  the  land,  possessed  in  him  a  firm  pro- 
tector so  long  as  he  lived.  Hardenberg  likewise 
sojourned  at  his  court.  Through  him  indeed  the 
attention  of  the  Elector  was  called  to  Laski.  In 
January,  I  5 4 5 ,  Hardenberg  had  paid  a  visit  to  his 
native  land,  and  upon  the  return  journey  had  passed 
a  month  in  Emden.*  The  two  friends  had  for  long 
not  enjoyed  such  a  time  of  intercourse.  Hardly  had 
Hardenberg  returned  to  the  Elector  before  A  Lasco 
received  an  urgent  invitation  from  the  latter,  to 
which,  with  the  consent  of  the  Countess,  he  yielded 
compliance.  Manifold  important  subjects  had  the 
aged  ecclesiastical  prince  to  discuss  with  the  Re- 
former ;  of  one  such  subject  alone  has  the  intclli- 

*  Scrinium,  iii.  687. 


Al   THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRTESLAND.      317 

gence  reached  us  :  the  departure  of  the  nuns  from 
the  cloister,  which  had  assumed  great  proportions 
within  the  archbishopric.*  Only  with  regret  did 
the  Archbishop  take  leave  of  A  Lasco;  he  would  fain 
have  retained  him  altogether  beside  himself  at  a 
time  when  the  state  of  his  affairs  in  relation  to  the 
Emperor  and  the  cathedral  chapter  was  daily  grow- 
ing worse.  He  at  least  obtained  from  him  the 
promise  that  he  would  attend  the  Diet  at  Worms 
as  one  of  his  counsellors. 

On  the  1 6th  May,  1545,  Charles  V.  arrived  in 
Worms,  and  on  the  next  day  the  Cardinal  Farneseft 
about  the  same  time  also,  as  promised  to  the 
Elector,  John  a  Lasco.  On  the  way  thither  he  had 
made  a  stay  of  a  few  days  in  Heidelberg,  to  visit 
the  Count  Palatine,  Otho  Henry.^.  A  radical  change 
had,  however,  set  in  at  Worms  from  the  spirit  which 
prevailed  in  the  days  of  the  Diet  at  Ratisbon  (1541), 
or  even  those  of  Spires  only  in  the  previous  year. 
At  Trent  the  Council  was  now  at  last  assembled  ; 
the  Protestants  were  not  invited  thereto. §  Between 
pope  and  kaiser  there  was  still  a  conflict  with 

*  Scrinium,  p.  681 ;  and  also  Spiegel,  p.  58. 

t  Sleidan,  Commentatoriutn  de  Statu  Religionis  (Francof., 
1610),  p.  431. 

\  Kuyper,  ii.  718. 

§  In  order  to  be  free  to  deal  with  the  Protestants,  Charles 
had  made  a  disadvantageous  peace  with  France  by  the  Treaty 
of  Crespy,  igth  September,  1544.  The  Council  of  Trent  met  under 
Paul  III.  i5th  March,  1545.  In  1547  it  was  removed  to 
Bologna,  where  it  sat  for  a  short  time.  Suspended  during  the 
latter  years  of  Paul  III.  and  during  the  whole  pontificates  of 
Marcellus  and  Paul  IV.  (1552 — -1562),  it  was  recalled  into  a 
brief  life  by  Pius  IV.  (1559 — 1565)  on  the  i8th  January,  1562, 
and  finally  expired  in  1563. 

Upon  the  rout  of  Charles'  army,  in  1552, /'the  Tridentine 
Council  was  dispersed  with  equal  haste,  the  worthy  Fathers 
flying  in  all  directions." — TR. 


3i8  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

regard  to  the  imperial  competency  at  the  Council. 
Already  the  form  of  the  first  German  Jesuits 
emerged  at  Worms.  The  Emperor  had  come  from 
Cologne  to  the  Diet ;  cathedral  chapter,  university, 
the  whole  clergy,  had  risen  against  the  Reformational 
zeal  of  the  Elector,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
Charles  V.  Everything  contributed  to  cause  the 
affairs  of  religion  to  be  prosecuted  only  with  half- 
heartedness  ;  it  was  deemed  hardly  worth  while  to 
negotiate,  inasmuch  as  every  one  was  convinced  of 
the  outbreak  of  war,  and  each  reckoned  on  its 
favourable  issue.  Laski  complains  in  a  letter  from 
Worms  of  the  negligent  manner  in  which  the 
religious  affairs  were  discussed,  and  that,  as  might 
be  foreseen,  it  was  wished  to  postpone  the  decision 
again  to  a  future  diet,*  probably  in  the  expectation 
that  before  then  the  bloody  die  of  decision  would 
have  been  cast  upon  the  field  of  battle.  Previous 
to  the  close  of  the  Diet,  as  early  as  the  loth  of  June, 
A  Lasco  quitted  Worms,  and  was  so  intent  on  reach- 
ing home  that  he  did  not  even  carry  out  his  inten- 
tion of  visiting  the  friends  in  Strassburg.  The  cause 
of  the  Elector  was  lost.  In  July  he  received  a 
citation  from  the  Pope  to  present  himself  in  Rome 
within  sixty  days  to  make  his  defence  ;  a  like 
citation  was  received,  among  others,  by  the  brother 
of  the  Countess  Anne,  the  Cologne  prebendary, 
CJiristopher  von  Oldenburg.^  The  faithful  Archbishop 
had  not  long  to  survive  the  failure  of  his  work  of 
reformation :  in  1552  he  died,  steadfast  to  the  last 
in  that  which  he  still  joyfully  confessed  in  departing 
to  be  his  only  consolation  in  life  and  death. 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  591.  f  Sleidan,  p.  436. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      319 


Hermann  and  his  friends  were  wanting  in  that  power 
of  faith  which,  as  Varrentrapp  aptly  points  out, 
"gives  the  courage  not  only  to  suffer,  but  also  to 
act  and  to  venture ;  they  did  not  know  how  to 
combine  the  glance  of  the  man  of  the  world  with 
the  earnestness  of  the  enthusiast."*  A  Lasco  was  not 
ignorant  of  this  art  ;  but  he  was  brought  too  late 
into  contact  with  the  Elector,  and  would  not 
perhaps  have  been  in  a  position,  with  his  measure 
of  knowledge,  to  have  made  up  the  lack  of  the 
others. 

We  should  have  further  to  speak  in  strict  chrono- 
logical order  of  two  other  journeys  that  fall  within 
the  Emden  period — to  England  and  to  Prussia  ;  we 
shall  transfer  the  description  to  its  more  appropriate 
connection.  Before  closing  this  section,  however, 
we  may  yet  be  permitted  to  mention  a  little  work 
which,  it  is  true,  first  appeared  from  the  press  in 
1551,  but  the  composition  of  which  and  its  circula- 
tion in  a  MS.  form  within  the  circle  of  the  East 
Frisian  clergy  falls  five  years  earlier  than  that  date. 

When  A  Lasco  had  returned  to  Emden  after  his 
run  through  to  the  court  of  Hermann  von  Wied, 
and  in  the  time  intervening  before  his  departure 
for  Worms,  in  April,  1545,  he  felt  the  urgent 
necessity  for  stating  his  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
in  clear  and  candid  language.  We  recall  to  mind 
that  the  Sacramental  controversy  had  broken  out 
anew  ;  just  when  he  was  in  Bonn  at  the  court  of 
the  Archbishop,  whose  Consultation  had  afforded  the 
first  occasion  for  conflict,  he  had  the  leisure  and  the 
call  for  testing  and  justifying  his  own  view  upon  the 

*  Varrentrapp,  p.  279. 


320  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 


burning  question  of  the  day,  at  first  perhaps  only 
for  his  own  satisfaction.      The  controversy,  however, 
spread    so    widely    on    every    side,    called    for   such 
definite   decision   in   all   circles,   that  the    Coetus   in 
Emden  was  obliged  to  take  up  its  position  in  relation 
thereto.      We  have    seen   that   there  were    likewise 
elements  in  the  land  which  were  decidedly  ranged 
as  regards  this  question  on  the  side  of  Luther^  and, 
ever   since    the    master   had    broken   out  with  such 
inexorable  wrath  against  the  Swiss,  these  had  plucked 
up  courage  here  also  to  use  decided  language.     A 
Lasco  judged   that   he  ought  not   to   keep   silence ; 
but  yet  he  had  no  wish  to  publish  his  view  as  a 
confessional   writing,  and   thereby  in  his    influential 
position    to   exercise   a  certain   pressure ;    he  chose 
therefore  the  more  inoffensive  form  of  expounding 
his  conviction  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  which  he  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the   Churches  under  his  oversight.* 
Five  years  afterwards  the  time  appeared  to  him  to 
be   come   for  making    public    the   contents   of   this 
epistle.     To  the  last  A  Lasco  held  to  the  view  here 
set  forth.     In   1555  he  testifies  to  King  Sigismund 
of  Polandj  that  he  occupies  to-day  the  same  position 
with  regard  to  this  doctrine  as  he  had  confessed  for 
ten  years  in  East  Friesland."j" 

Laski  lays  down  in  general  concerning  the  Sacra- 
ments the  proposition  that  they  are  institutions  of 
Christ,  committed  to  His  Church  to  this  end  in  par- 
ticular, that  by  their  rightful  use  the  whole  Church 
may  be  sealed  (pbsignetur)  in  the  salutary  communion 
with  the  Lord  Christ,  by  which  alone,  when  in  faith 
we  apprehend  it,  we  are  justified,  but  then  also 

*  Kuyper,  i.  Ixxi.  seq.,  where  the  proofs  are  given, 
t  Ibid-  ii.  22 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      321 

that  it  be  reminded  of  its  duty  to  express  an  image 
of  the  communion  with  Christ,  through  faith  in  whom 
it  receives  the  seal.  Applied  now  to  the  Lord's 
Supper,  the  partaking  thereof  seals  to  us  our  com- 
munion with  Christ  in  His  body  and  blood,  and 
with  this  also,  agreeably  to  its  appointment,  our 
righteousness,  which  is  apprehended  in  faith.  "  We 
willingly  concede  also  the  presence  of  our  Lord 
Christ  in  His  Supper,  effectual  for  salvation  to  all 
who,  by  the  observance  of  the  Supper  in  His  Church, 
testify  their  communion  with  Him,  and  His  with  us. 
Regarding  the  mode  of  His  presence,  we  do  not 
cause  ourselves  any  inquietude  ;  we  must  only,  how- 
ever, so  long  as  the  opinions  of  learned  men  differ 
with  regard  thereto,  refrain  from  all  curious  research 
before  the  people,  because  it  suffices  us  to  have 
Christ."  In  connection  with  this  view  only  the 
three  opinions  are  to  be  decidedly  rejected  :  the 
papistical  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  the  local 
and  physical  enclosing  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  and,  finally,  the  other  doctrine  that  the  Sacra- 
ments are  bare  signs. 

The  standpoint  of  A  Lasco  is  clear.  He  has  most 
in  common  with  the  Calvin- Melanchthon  conception, 
as  this  found  its  authentic  expression  in  the  altered 
Augsburg  Confession  of  1540,  an  alteration  which 
was,  to  be  sure,  at  least  tacitly,  admitted  by  Luther. 

But  the  more  calm  and  peaceful  period  in  the  life 
of  our  friend  was  hastening  to  its  close.  Only  for 
three  years  was  he  permitted  to  enjoy  his  country 
seat  undisturbed  ;  then  the  trying  times  passed 
over  this  little  country  too,  far  as  it  was  removed 
from  the  centre.  The  personality  of  Laski  there  by 
the  sea  towers  too  high,  like  a  mighty  German  oak, 

21 


322  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


for  him  to  escape  the  violent  tempest  that  rages 
through  the  land,  or  not  to  be  struck  in  the  front 
rank  by  the  lightning.  That  he  would  yield  to  the 
Emperor's  threats,  in  opposition  to  his  conscience, 
even  the  opponents  did  not  look  for  from  this  man, 
so  strong  in  faith.  Thus  he  was  compelled  once 
more  to  set  out  upon  his  wanderings,  to  go  forth 
into  an  unknown  land  abroad,  with  good  courage 
this  time  also,  for  his  eye  was  fixed  upon  the  ways 
which  God  showed  to  him. 

5.  THE  INTERIM  IN  ITS  INFLUENCE  ON  LASKI'S 
FATE. 

That  which  had   contributed  so  essentially  to  the 

failure  of  the  Cologne  attempt  at  reformation — the 

incapacity  "  for   combining  the   glance  of  the  man 

of  the  world  with  the  earnestness  of  the  enthusiast " 

— now  also  asserted  itself  in  a  terribly  fatal  manner 

in    the    progress    of    the   evangelical   movement,    as 

though  this  inaptitude  were  an  ineradicable  defect  in 

the  German  character.     And  Germany's  most  valiant 

forces  stood  at  that   time   already  in    the  camp  of 

the    Protestants.       Even    the    unpractised    eye    was 

compelled    to    recognise     that     the    destinies    were 

inevitably  closing  in  in    such   wise  as   to  admit  of 

no  arbitrament  save  that  of  the  sword.      How  easy 

would  it  have  been  for  the  Smalcald   League,  even 

in  the  summer  of  1546,  to  have  thwarted  the  crafty 

policy    of   the   Spaniard  ;    turning  as   he   did,   with 

the  most  refined  calculation,  everything  to  account 

for    the    one    end  ;     how   easy,   with    only    a    little 

diplomatic  skill,  to  have  availed  themselves  of  the 

tension    between     kaiser    and    pope    to    their    own 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      323 

advantage.  But  all  unsuspecting,  almost  without 
an  inkling  of  the  real  state  of  the  case  and  of  the 
way  to  turn  it  to  account,  the  Protestant  princes 
drifted  upon  their  fate.  Even  after  the  Smalcald 
war  had  already  broken  out,  the  decision  was  still 
in  their  hands.  In  the  Thuringian  forest  they  had 
about  twenty  thousand  men  ready  equipped  ;  in  the 
Wurtemberg  country  there  lay  encamped  twelve 
thousand  men  ;  and  the  Kaiser  had  still  with  toil 
to  collect  his  widely  scattered  legions.  To  the 
gallant  Sclidrtlin  *  it  would  not  have  been  a  difficult 
thing  in  those  days  to  cut  off  the  approach  of  imperial 
troops  from  the  south  ;  but  the  Protestant  council 
of  war  was  smitten  as  with  blindness  in  presence  of 
mere  party  considerations.  Then  came  the  occupa- 
tion of  Electoral  Saxony  by  Duke  Maurice,  which 
proved  by  its  result  to  be  a  deed  of  infamy  against 
the  Evangelical  Church.  Thus  also  in  the  political 
domain  the  raising  of  the  particular  interests  above 
the  common  weal,  the  division  in  the  League,  as 
well  as  the  ecclesiastical  disunion  already  so  soon 
manifesting  itself,  redounded  only  to  the  advantage 
of  the  enemy.  On  the  Lochau  heath,  near  Muhlberg, 
the  decisive  blow  was  delivered  in  the  spring  of 
1547.  The  battle  was  not  so  terribly  bloody;  but 
yet  in  it  was  cast  the  die  of  world-historic  import, 
and  this  fell  in  favour  of  the  Kaiser  :  he  had  dealt 
the  Protestant  powers  an  almost  fatal  blow.  The 
Elector  of  Saxony  was  taken  prisoner,  Duke 
Maurice  received  his  electorate,  and  an  imperial 
garrison  occupied  the  city  of  Luther  ;  as  an  after- 
consequence  of  this  victory,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse 

*  See  Robertson,   Charles    F.,  Book  viii.,  edition  of  1839, 
pp.  248 — 250. — TR. 


JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 


was  compelled  seven  weeks  later  (ipth  June)  to 
surrender  at  discretion. 

The  fate  of  the  Evangelical  Church  was  placed, 
humanly  speaking,  in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor. 
Only  in  Lower  Saxony  were  a  few  convulsive 
movements  still  to  be  observed,  in  the  endeavour  to 
rise  against  the  power  of  the  Spaniard.  Christopher 
of  Oldenburg,  the  valiant  swordsman  and  warlike 
advocate  of  the  Protestants  —  we  have  already 
often  met  with  this  friend  of  Laski  —  placed  himself, 
with  Albert  von  Mansfeld,  at  the  head  of  a  host  of 
horsemen  and  landsquenets.  In  the  neighbourhood 
of  Dronkenborg  they  came  upon  the  imperial  troops 
under  the  command  of  Duke  Eric  of  Brunswick. 
Here  at  least  the  Protestants  were  victorious  ;  joy- 
fully was  the  Whitsun-festival  kept  in  Bremen.  But 
the  little  gain  could  not  countervail  the  irreparable 
loss  :  the  Emperor  did  not  even  feel  called  upon  to 
notice  the  success  of  the  Lower  Saxons  ;  the  trivial 
advantage  of  the  Protestants  would  of  necessity 
disappear  if  fortune  still  favoured  him  to  pluck  all 
the  fruits  of  his  victory  at  Muhlberg. 

It  was  not  a  conflict  exclusively  between  Rome 
and  Wittenberg  which,  even  in  a  political  respect, 
had  here  been  brought  to  a  final  issue.  There  was 
for  the  evangelical  party  a  promising  sign  in  the 
profound  discord,  the  severe  tension,  which  was  now 
apparent  between  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope. 
Paul  III.  was  more  concerned  to  assert  his  secular 
dignity  against  the  Emperor,  than,  in  alliance  with 
him,  to  do  violence  to  the  Evangelical  Church  at 
this  favourable  juncture  ;  and  Charles  V.  was  prepared 
rather  to  surrender  the  profit  of  the  victory  and  to 
sacrifice:  the  cause  of  the  Romish  Church,  than  to 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      325 

suffer  his  imperial  power  to  be  in  the  least  curtailed. 
The  blasphemous  words  are  said  to  have  escaped  the 
Pope  at  this  time,  in  his  rage,  that  "  he  would  help 
himself  as  best  he  might,  though  he  should  summon 
Hell  to  his  assistance."*  A  league  between  the 
Pope  and  the  Sultan  was  judged  not  improbable; 
while  the  imperial  ambassador  in  Rome  thought  of 
seizing  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor.  This  state  of  affairs  wrought  effectively, 
and,  despite  the  injury  which  the  Interim  in- 
flicted upon  the  Evangelical  Church,  we  may  even 
say,  favourably,  upon  the  treatment  of  the  subju- 
gated Protestants.  For  voices  were  raised  within 
the  surroundings  of  the  Emperor  which  were  desirous 
offhand  of  wiping  out  the  last  thirty  years  from  the 
history  ;  and  every  one  felt  that  Germany  at  this 
moment  possessed  once  more  a  chieftain  of  com- 
manding power.  Who,  however,  will  venture  to  deny 
that  with  such  attempt  the  bowstring,  too  greatly 
strained,  might  have  broken,  and  the  little  company 
there  in  Bremen  have  been  swollen  into  an 
avalanche  such  as  would  have  swept  before  it  the 
whole  empire  ? 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Diet  assembled  at 
Augsburg  in  the  autumn  of  1547.  Only  a  quarter 
of  a  century  separated  it  from  the  memorable  Diet  at 
Worms  ;  but  what  a  history  in  this  short  space  of 
time  !  And  this  time  the  Protestants  had  no  longer 
a  Lutker  boldly  to  confront  kaiser  and  empire  in 
the  power  of  God  alone.  Charles  V.  himself  was 

*  "  Que  hara  lo  que  pudiere  y  se  ajutara  con  el  diablo." 
Ranke  (v.  10)  takes  the  words  from  the  important  despatches 
of  the  imperial  ambassador  Diego  de  Mendoza,  the  most 
versatile  statesman  of  the  Spanish  imperial  policy. 


326  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

present,  ready,  in  the  full  sense  of  his  power, 
to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  victorious  policy.  He 
looked  upon  the  issue  of  a  religious  ordinance  for 
Germany  as  his  most  pressing  task.  The  division 
in  the  Church  was  to  be  settled,  in  the  form,  it  is 
true,  which  should  please  the  Catholic  potentate.  A 
Christian  council  was  to  bring  about  the  agreement. 
The  Council  had  indeed  already  begun  ;  in  what 
sense  it  would  execute  this  task  could  not  be  doubt- 
ful to  the  Protestants  from  the  protocols  already 
lying  before  them.  It  was  still  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance that  this  very  Tridentine-Bolognese  council 
constituted  the  apple  of  discord  between  pope  and 
kaiser,  and  was  consequently  incapable  of  exerting 
the  looked-for  influence.  Until  the  Council  should 
have  pronounced  a  decision,  certain  terms  of  union 
were  in  t/ie  meanwhile  (interim*)  to  be  recognised 
between  the  mother  Church  and  the  sects  :  on  this 
side  the  concession  granted  of  the  marriage  of  the 
priests,  the  cup  to  the  laity,  the  less  rigid  enforce- 
ment of  fasting ;  on  that  side  the  concession  de- 
manded of  the  primacy  of  the  Pope,  the  seven 
Sacraments  and  transubstantiation,  the  intercession 
of  the  saints,  the  processions,  and  other  ceremonies.* 

*  Behind  the  redoubtable  Emperor  stood  his  confessor,  Peter 
de  Soto,  a  Dominican  friar.  Respecting  this  man,  Hooper 
writes  from  Antwerp  in  April,  1549,  "  I  am  informed  by  our 
ambassador  that  if  the  Emperor's  confessor  were  but  mode- 
rately religious,  there  would  be  the  greatest  hope  of  shortly 
bringing  him  [Charles]  into  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  .  .  . 
When  the  Emperor  was  in  Upper  Germany  seven  months  since, 
he  was  deserted  by  his  confessor  because  he  would  not  act 
with  severity  against  some  godly  persons,  and  restore  popery 
altogether."  And  Jewell  writes  in  May,  1559,  "Our  universities 
are  so  depressed  and  ruined,  that  at  Oxford  there  are  hardly 
two  individuals  who  think  with  us,  and  even  they  are  so 
dejected  and  broken  in  spirit,  that  they  can  do  nothing. 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FR1&SLAND.      327 

It  is  a  painful  course  to  follow  the  introduction 
of  this  Interim  into  the  different  Protestant  lands  of 
Germany.  With  only  very  rare  exceptions,  the 
princes  yielded,  however  reluctantly  ;  seriously 
threatened  with  the  imperial  displeasure,  the  magis- 
tracy of  the  cities  likewise  submitted,  often  after 
an  affecting  resistance.  Unhappily  even  MelanchtJton 
was  pliable  enough  to  take  a  part  in  framing  the 
so-called  Leipsic  Interim,  which  would  tolerate  as 
indifferent  that  which  seemed  to  thousands  a  grievous 
outrage  on  their  evangelic  faith.  Yet  many  pastors 
were  found  willing  to  surrender  office  and  livelihood 
rather  than  the  Gospel  freedom  of  a  Christian  man. 
Driven  from  house  and  home,  they  went  forth  to 
endure  extreme  penury  ;  this  bitter  step  appeared  to 
them,  after  all,  preferable  to  remaining  in  a  comfort- 
able office  under  dire  distress  of  conscience. 

Even  into  our  little,  half-forgotten  country,  by  the 
low-lying  strand  of  the  sea,  so  remote  from  the 
world's  intercourse,  the  effect  of  this  Interim  soon 
penetrated,  and  that  in  a  way  fraught  with 
momentous  consequences  for  our  friend.  The  resi- 
dence in  Bonn,  and  afterwards  in  Worms,  had 
brought  him  near  to  the  centre  of  this  movement  ; 
then  had  come  the  dark  days  of  the  war  and  its 
lamentable  issue.  When  his  supporter,  Duke  Christo- 
pher of  Oldenburg,  entered  as  victor  into  Bremen, 
and  there  held  the  Whitsun-festival,  friend  Harden- 

That  despicable  friar  Soto  and  another  Spanish  monk  [John 
de  Villa  Garsya]  have  so  torn  up  by  the  roots  all  that  Peter 
Martyr  had  so  prosperously  planted,  that  they  have  reduced 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  into  a  wilderness."  Soto  was  after- 
wards accused  to  the  Inquisition  of  heretical  opinions,  but  died 
at  Trent  in  1563  during  the  preliminary  proceedings  {Original 
Letters,  p.  59). — TR. 


328  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

berg  had  already  become  pastor  at  the  cathedral  in 
Bremen,  after  resigning  his  office  under  the  Elector. 
The  course  of  events,  too,  our  friend  could  follow  as 
though  present.  Stanislas  Laski  attended  the  Diet 
of  Augsburg  as  ambassador  of  Poland.*  Furnished 
with  information  by  his  brother,  our  Laski  possessed 
an  acquaintance  with  the  progress  of  affairs  such  as 
no  one,  not  even  the  Countess,  could  acquire  so 
reliably  and  so  quickly.  He  had  soon  learnt  that 
the  Cardinal  of  Trent,  sent  by  the  Emperor  to  the 
Pope — it  was  Madrucci — had  been  able  to  accomplish 
nothing  with  Paul  III.,  and  thus  the  alienation  of 
the  two  powers  had  grown  into  open  hostility  ;  he 
knew  as  early  as  February  that  the  Pope  was 
besieging  Piacenza,  which  (after  the  murder  of  Pier 
Luigi  Farnese^  a  son  of  the  Pope)  had  been  seized 
by  the  imperial  commander  Ferrante  Gonzaga."\ 
These  accounts,  nevertheless,  did  not  inspire  our 
Laski  with  much  hope,  since  he  had  a  keen  eye 
for  the  understanding  of  worldly  affairs,  and,  what 
is  of  greater  importance,  at  the  same  time  knew  how 
to  measure  the  limits  of  their  influence  upon  things 
spiritual.  Just  in  those  days  he  wrote  the  prophetic 
words,  true  for  all  time,  "  As  always,  so  do  I  still 
in  the  present  day  think  of  the  diets  in  regard  to 
religious  affairs.  If  we  undertake  to  guide  and 
advance  matters  of  religion  by  human  foresight  and 
prudence,  it  is  a  downhill  course  with  them,  from  the 
moment  when  we  think  we  can  strengthen  them 
with  human  safeguards." 

A   Lasco  had  not  been  deceived  as  to  the   final 
issue  of  the  ecclesiastical  business  at  the  Diet.    "  May 

*  Eichhorn,  Stanislaus  Hosius  (Mayence,  1854),  i.  94. 
+  Kuyper,  ii.  615. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      329 

the  Lord  have  His  Church  in  His  keeping  !  "  he 
exclaims  with  sadness  after  the  proclamation  of  the 
Interim.  The  Leipsic  Interim,  "  upon  which  are 
impressed  the  features  of  Philip,"  occasions  him  deep 
grief.  He  refrains  indeed,  out  of  esteem  for 
Melanchthon,  from  expressing,  even  in  a  confidential 
letter  to  a  friend,  the  feelings  which  the  book  has 
awakened  in  him  ;  only  the  one  ejaculation  escapes 
his  weary  soul,  "  But  if  all  that  which,  as  a  matter 
of  indifference  \adiapJioron\  is  not  censured  in  Scrip- 
ture is  of  such  kind  that  we  may  receive  it  again, 
what  shall  be  said  of  those  who  have  taught  that 
one  must,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  life,  combat  that 
which  they  now  do  not  combat  ?  and  for  how  many 
was  this  the  occasion  of  their  being  in  reality 
martyred.  Oh,  come,  Lord  Jesus  !  "* 

The  imperial  messenger  came  to  Emden  also, 
where  he  alighted  at  the  end  of  August,  1548,  to 
make  a  peremptory  demand  of  submission  to  the 
Interim.  The  Countess  was  abroad  at  the  moment 
of  the  arrival  of  the  messenger,  on  a  visit  to  the 
Count  Palatine  OtJio  Henry  at  Heidelberg,  to  con- 
sult with  him  on  Church  concerns ;  A  Lasco  was 
on  the  point  of  complying  with  an  urgent  invitation 
to  England,  to  co-operate  in  the  ordering  of  the 
ecclesiastical  affairs  of  that  land.  The  Countess 
had  already  granted  him  the  necessary  leave  of 
absence,  with  a  promise  that  he  should  return  to 
the  service  of  the  East  Frisian  Church.  Laski 
deemed  it  the  most  advisable  course,  though  decid- 
ing with  sorrowful  heart,  not  even  now  to  recall  his 
promise  of  a  speedy  departure  ;  he  might  at  least 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  617. 


30  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

hope  by  his  own  absence  and  that  of  the  Countess 
to  delay  the  decision  ;  and  that  in  those  troublous 
days  seemed  in  itself  a  gain.  What  a  time  of  trial 
it  was  for  all,  what  perils  threatened  the  heads  of 
the  Evangelical  Church,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  our  friend  could  only  venture  to  make  the 
journey  in  disguise  and  under  an  assumed  name. 
Even  while  en  route  A  Lasco  addressed  consolatory 
letters  from  Antwerp,  and  then  repeatedly  afterwards 
from  England,  to  his  Church  under  the  cross.  Un- 
happily these  letters  have  not  hitherto  been  recovered. 
Emmius  seems  to  have  had  them  before  him  when 
he  excerpts  from  them  the  exhortation  to  the 
preachers  only  to  be  steadfast  and  of  good  courage. 
If  they  are  driven  from  house  and  home,  their  faithful 
superintendent  has  prepared  for  them  a  place  of 
refuge  in  England  ;  there  they  can  live  undisturbed 
and  welcomed,  with  many  others  who  are  fugitives 
for  their  faith's  sake.  Only  let  them  faithfully 
endure.  It  is  the  lot  of  true  believers  in  this  age 
to  endure  persecution.  The  last  times  have  appeared. 
Satan  rages  in  order  to  destroy  the  kingdom  of 
Christ ;  but  Christ  will  be  victorious  and  deliver  His 
people,  since  He  is  indeed  the  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah.  Great  and  powerful,  it  is  true,  is  the 
Emperor,  who  commands  ;  but  greater  and  more 
powerful  is  God,  who  forbids.  To  the  Emperor  we 
must  yield  obedience,  but  only  unto  the  threshold 
of  the  altar.* 

The  Countess  had  meanwhile  returned,  dejected 
and  perplexed  ;  for  in  Heidelberg  too  they  were 
unresolved  what  to  do,  and  with  leaden  weight 

*  Emmius,  Rerum  Frisicarum  Historia,  p.  936. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      331 

grief  pressed  upon  all.  It  was  a  perilous  venture 
for  land  and  people  to  call  down  upon  them  the 
wrath  of  the  Emperor  by  refusal.  And  the  Emperor 
was  in  dangerous  proximity.  From  Augsburg  he 
had  repaired  to  Brussels,  to  confer  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Netherlands  upon  his  son  Pliilip,  whom 
he  had  sent  for  from  Spain.  The  latter,  at  the 
wish  of  his  father,  had  just  made,  one  might  almost 
say,  his  bridal  tour  through  Germany,  to  win  before- 
hand the  affection  of  this  land  in  view  of  the  coming 
election  to  the  empire.*  At  first  the  Countess 
sought  by  entreaties  and  supplications  to  be  spared 
subjection  to  the  Interim.  If  the  Emperor  would 
but  have  patience  and  consideration  for  a  helpless 
widow,  and  suffer  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  her  poor 
little  land  to  remain  as  they  were  until  the  decision 
of  a  council !  The  Emperor,  however,  would  not 
spare  the  woman  on  this  point  either  ;  and  demanded 
unconditional  submission.  Yet  a  further  attempt 
from  Emden  in  February,  1549.  So  long,  at  least, 
they  had  been  successful  in  delaying  the  execution 
of  the  Interim.  The  statesman  FriedricJi  ter  Westen 
was  sent  to  Brussels  to  the  imperial  court  and 
entrusted  with  the  conducting  of  the  difficult  busi- 
ness. He  was  not  the  man  for  executing  it  in  the 
spirit  of  Laski.  In  the  report  sent  in  by  him  we 
recognise  the  words  of  a  statesman  who  has 
suffered  himself  to  be  intimidated  by  the  Emperor, 
and  thinks  nothing  can  be  more  painful  than  that 
he  and  his  land  should  be  exposed  to  persecution 
for  the  sake  of  matters  of  faith.  Yes,  he  is,  after 
all,  the  Sadducee  which  the  historian  of  East  Fries- 

*  Maurenbrecher,   Karl   V.   und  die  Deutschen  Protes- 
tanten  (Dusseldorf,  1^65),  p.  241. 


332,  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

land  describes  him  as  being.*  He  knows  ho\v, 
with  adept  art,  to  augment  the  alarm  of  the  Countess, 
to  attenuate  the  strain  upon  the  conscience  exerted 
by  the  Interim,  falsely  representing  to  her  that  all 
the  Protestant  States,  with  only  ever  fewer  excep- 
tions, had  submitted,  and  that  it  must  surely  appear 
strange  that  she,  as  a  woman,  should  scruple  to  do 
that  for  her  little  land  which  had  been  already 
done  by  the  mightiest  Protestant  rulers. 

While  the  Countess,  terrified  by  the  skilfully  com- 
posed accounts  of  her  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
Brussels,  began  to  waver  in  regard  to  her  bearing 
towards  the  Interim,  A  Lasco  arrived  once  more 
in  East  Friesland.  At  Emden  he  remains  only  a 
few  days,  on  account  of  his  travelling  companion 
from  England  (Count  Mansfeld\  then  hastens  over 
to  Aurich  (zoth  March,  1549),  where  the  Countess 
is  anxiously  awaiting  him.  He  found  her  under 
the  spell  of  the  courtier  and  worldly  counsellor, 
who  urged  submission  to  the  inflexible  will  of  the 
Emperor.  A  Lasco  had  quickly  divined  the  state 
of  affairs,  and  was  prepared  for  the  worst.  "  We 
are  here  expecting,"  he  writes  to  a  friend  in  England 
(9th  of  April),  "  with  the  greatest  certainty  cross  and 
persecution,  and  encourage  each  other  to  the 
enduring  of  the  same  in  the  Lord,  by  calling  upon 
His  holy  name,  that  by  patience  and  faithfulness 
in  bearing  we  may  be  conquerors  in  all  that  which 
the  Lord  may  determine  to  permit  against  us,  to 
the  glory  of  His  name  and  to  our  improvement. 
Assuredly  the  Lord  cares  for  us,  and  is  so  mighty 
that  He  is  able  to  cast  to  the  ground  by  a  single 

*  Emmius,  p.  937. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      333 

word  of  His  mouth  all  our  enemies,  however 
numerous  they  may  be  ;  the  Lord,  however,  is  also 
so  good,  that  not  a  single  hair  can  fall  from  our 
heads  without  His  will,  even  though  the  whole 
world  should  seek  to  assail  us.  God  is  just  as 
little  capable  of  ever  wishing  us  ill,  as  a  mother 
to  her  child,  or  the  eyelid  to  the  eye,  yea  as  little 
as  He  is  ever  capable  of  ceasing  to  be  God.  He 
is  to  be  praised  in  all  things  which  He  permits 
against  us,  because  He  never  permits  anything 
against  us  but  that  which  ministers  to  our  salvation. 
To  Him  we  have  one  and  all  committed  our  cause  ; 
with  all  patience  we  await  that  which  He  is  minded 
to  permit  against  us."  * 

One  feels  from  these  beautiful  words  of  heroic 
confidence  in  God  that  our  friend  had  quickly 
succeeded  in  inspiring  with  fresh  power  the 
sunken  courage  of  his  ministers.  Not  upon  an  un- 
fruitful soil  had  the  rousing  language  of  the  leader 
fallen,  as  we  shall  soon  perceive.  Alert  and  active 
on  every  side,  he  looked  forth  to  see  how  he 
could  meet  the  pernicious  Interim,  how  he  could 
protect  the  Evangelical  Church  against  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  Emperor.  Though  at  first  only  in 
the  blue  haze  of  the  distance,  in  dim  outline,  there 
seemed  to  present  itself  a  means  of  deliverance 
from  the  almost  overwhelming  power  of  the  imperial 
adversary  of  the  Reformation,  A  Lasco  eagerly 
turned  his  glance  thither,  ready  to  co-operate  should 
there  be  need  for  his  co-operation.  In  this  readi- 
ness, he  resolved  once  more  to  quit  East  Friesland, 
in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  render  greater  service 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  621. — The  letter  is  to  Cecil,  and  is  given 
a'.so  in  Strype's  Cranmer,  Appendix. — TR. 


334  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

by  the  possible  issue  of  the  journey,  than  by 
passively  witnessing  the  slow  course  of  events  in 
Emden. 

Like  an  oppressive  shroud  of  iron  lay  the  power 
of  the  Emperor  and  his  Interim  upon  Protestant 
Germany  ;  but  beneath  it  the  evangelical  sentiment 
of  the  people  surged  and  heaved  uninterruptedly, 
and  in  fierce  insurrection  against  the  unbounded 
power  of  the  Spaniard  and  Catholic.  They  could 
not  brook  the  contemptuous  scorn  with  which 
the  Emperor  had  treated  the  two  captured  German 
princes,  the  less  so  since  they  recognised  in  this 
treatment  a  threat  of  that  which  they  had  to  expect 
in  regard  to  their  dearest  interests  at  the  hand  of 
this  potentate.  There  was  an  upheaval  in  the 
depths.  "  Rather  axe  than  pen  ;  rather  blood  than 
ink,"  these  decisive  words  of  the  Margrave  John  of 
Brandenburg,  with  which  he  refused  to  subscribe 
to  the  Interim,  found  an  echo  in  many  a  prince's 
heart.  And  he  stood  by  his  word.  The  noble 
Duke  OtJw  of  Brunswick  made,  as  early  as  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1548,  the  first  attempt  at 
concluding  a  league  of  princes  (the  Germanic  Con- 
federation) against  the  tyranny  of  the  Emperor.*  It 
was  deemed  of  great  importance  for  the  after-pro- 
gress to  gain  over  specially  the  Duke  Albert  of 
Prussia  to  the  League,  then  further  England,  Poland, 
the  old  hereditary  enemy  of  diaries  V.,  and  other 
powers.  In  Poland  Sigismund  Augustus  had  lately 
ascended  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  The  Protestants 

*  Raumer,  Historisches  Taschenbuch  (Leipsic,  1857),  P- 
19. — Bucer  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Augsburg  about  the 
end  of  January  of  the  year  1548,  waiting  till  Joachim,  Elector 
of  Brandenburg,  should  send  for  him,  to  aid  in  oromoting  the 
Reformation  there  {Original Letters,  p.  640) 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAKD.      335 

placed  great  hope  in  the  King,  who  appeared  to  be 
attached  to  the  Gospel.  Laski,  too,  shared  this 
hope.  Hardly  had  he  heard  that  the  evangelically 
minded  preacher  of  the  King,  Laivrence  Prasnicius, 
entertained  the  thought  of  laying  down  his  office, 
before  he  most  earnestly  besought  him  in  a  letter 
to  desist  from  this  intention.*  In  Riesenburg 
Duke  Albert  of  Prussia  held  an  interview  with  the 
Vayvode  of  Marienburg,  Achatius  of  Zemen,  for  the 
purpose  of  consultation.  The  zealous  Count  Volrad 
iwn  Mansfcld  had  gone  to  England,  to  gain  the 
adhesion  of  the  Lord  Protector.  Laski  had  made 
the  return  journey  thence  in  the  same  vessel  with 
him  ;  he  was  fully  initiated  into  the  plans  of  the 
Count,  whether  by  Volrad  himself  or  by  the  Duke 
Christopher  of  Oldenburg.  Immediately  after  his 
return  to  Emden  he  is  in  a  position  to  transmit  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  a  detailed  account  of 
the  state  of  affairs,  for  communication  to  the  Duke 
of  Somerset. 

It  was  now  as  though  the  renowned  diplomatic 
vein  in  the  Laski  family  began  to  display  itself  in 
our  Johannes  too.  For  the  first  time  was  this  the 
case,  and  then  only  as  occasioned  by  the  prospect 
of  being  able  in  this  way  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
oppression  of  the  Evangelical  Church.  The  journey 
was  made  in  secret.  A  Lasco  had  gone  to  Bremen, 
a  few  days  after  on  to  Hamburg,  whence  he  soon 
found  an  opportunity  of  taking  ship  for  Dantsic. 
It  is  unfortunately  unexplained  what  he  did  during 
the  following  eight  weeks  here  in  the  renowned 
seaport  town  of  his  native  land.  It  seems  to  have 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  623. 


336  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

been  mainly  a  time  of  waiting.  Laski  regarded 
himself  always  as  a  Pole,  subject  to  the  will  of  his 
king.  He  had  come  to  Dantsic  to  obtain  the  royal 
permission  to  comply  with  a  call  of  Edward  VI., 
if  perchance  his  fatherland  itself  did  not  claim 
his  co-operation  in  the  guidance  of  a  hoped-for 
reformation.*  The  King  of  England  had  himself 
therefore  written  to  Sigismund  Augustus  assuming 
that,  with  the  new  ruler,  the  Gospel  would  now  find 
its  way  into  Poland,  and  concluding  with  the  wish 
that  so  important  a  power  as  Laski  might  not  be 
lost  to  his  fatherland.  Laski  too  had  written  to  the 
King  and  placed  himself  at  his  disposal,  if  he  would 
make  use  of  him  in  an  ecclesiastical  ministry  in 
accordance  with  the  doctrine  of  Christ.t  In  the 
middle  of  July  we  meet  with  Laski  at  Konigsberg, 
where  he  remained  for  a  few  weeks.  J 

The  name  A  Lasco  was  no  strange  one  to  the 
Duke  Albert  of  Prussia.  In  all  the  bloody  conflicts 
and  encounters  which  the  stout  Hohenzoller,  as 
Grand  Master  of  the  German  Order  of  Knights,  had 
maintained  with  Poland  since  1512,  because  he 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  31. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  624. 

|  During  the  interval  Laski  would  appear  to  have  realised 
his  previous  intention  of  visiting  Strassburg  (see  above,  p.  318). 
Utenhove  says  in  a  letter  to  Bullinger  from  Strassburg,  7th  July, 
1549,  "Immediately  after  my  return  to  Strassburg  with  John 
a  Lasco,  I  observed  a  letter,"  etc.  {Original Letters,  p.  583; 
cf.  p.  654 ;  compare  Pijper,  Jan  Utenhove,  Zijn  Leven  en  Zijne 
Werken  (Leyden,  1883),  pp.  44 — 49,  to  whom  the  credit  of  this 
discover)'  is  due).  After  spending  some  fourteen  days  with  Bui- 
linger  in  Zurich,  Utenhove  passed  a  short  time  at  Geneva.  His 
return  route  would  lie  through  Basle,  where  it  is  likely  he  was 
joined  by  A  Lasco  about  the  beginning  of  July.  There  is  ground 
for  believing  that  A  Lasco  during  his  brief  stay  in  Strassburg 
was  the  guest  of  John  Burcher,  who  had  purchased  a  house 
there  in  1548. — TK. 


AT  THE   GOAL   IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      337 

refused  to  render  the  oath  of  feudal  allegiance  to  his 
uncle,  the  powerful  King  of  Poland,  it  almost  always 
happened  that,  when  it  came  to  negotiations  for 
peace  or  for  the  conclusion  of  an  armistice,  there 
stood  in  the  forefront  of  those  conducting  the 
negotiations  on  the  side  of  Poland  the  illustrious 
Archbishop  of  Gnesen.  When  in  1525 — it  was 
Palm  Sunday — Duke  Albert  concluded  peace  in 
Cracow,  he  received  the  land  as  an  hereditary  fief 
at  the  hands  of  the  King  of  Poland,  upon  the 
surrender  of  the  office  of  Grand  Master  and  the 
renunciation  of  all  participation  in  the  Order  on  the 
part  of  the  land  of  Prussia  ;  he  deposed  the  oath 
of  fealty  upon  the  book  of  the  Gospels,  which  the 
Archbishop  of  Gnesen  had  placed  in  the  King's  lap.* 
Another  Laski,  during  this  brilliant  and  world-famed 
solemnity,  held  in  his  arms  the  royal  prince  and  heir 
to  the  throne,  Sigismund  Augustus,  then  four  years 
old.  More  than  once  at  that  time  was  Jerome  a 
Lasco  found  present  as  ambassador  in  Konigsberg. 
The  earnest,  devout  Duke,  trained  in  his  youth  by 
the  Archbishop  Hermann  of  Cologne,  and  won  to 
the  Gospel  by  the  sermons  of  Osianderat  Nuremberg, 
had,  supported  by  the  counsels  of  Luther,  opened  a 
free  course  to  the  Reformation  in  his  land.  In 
Konigsberg  Paul  Speratus,  here  in  the  country  the 
bishops  George  von  Polcntz  and,  somewhat  later, 
Erhard  von  Queis,  boldly  went  over  to  the  cause  of 
the  Reformation.  The  vigorous  Duke  bestowed 
great  pains  upon  the  matter  of  the  schools.  The 
establishing  of  a  gymnasium  (called  Particularium} 
was  soon  followed  by  the  formation  of  the  University, 

*  Hase,     Herzog    Albrccht    von    Preussen     und    scin 
Hofprediger  (Leipsic,  1879),  p.  33. 

22 


338  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

inagurated  on  the  i/th  of  August,  1544.  William 
Gnapheus,  a  friend  of  Laski,  was  rector  of  the 
P articular ium,  as  likewise  professor  at  the  University, 
a  man  who  for  the  Gospel's  sake  had  become  a 
fugitive  from  his  Dutch  home,  and  had  betaken 
himself,  with  many  others  of  his  countrymen,  to  the 
asylum  which  had  been  at  once  opened  to  the 
persecuted  for  their  faith's  sake  in  the  newly  founded 
duchy  of  Prussia.  With  Entfelder,  Professor  of 
Theology,  likewise  hailing  from  the  Netherlands, 
Laski  had  for  years  past  maintained  an  epistolary 
correspondence.  *  It  had  been  from  the  first  the 
secret  wish  of  our  friend  to  find  a  suitable  field  of 
labour  in  Prussia.  It  would  have  afforded  a  sweet 
solace  to  one  of  such  ardent  love  for  his  country  to 
live  at  least  at  the  gates  of  Poland,  and  from  a  point 
close  at  hand  to  keep  the  eye  of  his  mind  fixed 
upon  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  in  his  native  land. 
Duke  Albert,  too,  desired  to  win  this  important  man 
for  his  country.  He  esteemed  him  highly  on 
account  of  his  pre-eminent  intellectual  gifts,  and 
equally  so  on  account  of  his  heroic  spirit  and  virtuous 
life.  He  once  observed  that  he  could  not  but 
wonder  exceedingly  that  of  the  same  parents  should 
have  been  born  natural  brothers — he  meant 
Stanislas  and  Johannes — of  such  opposite  bent  of 
mind,  the  one  praiseworthy  in  the  works  of  peace 
and  piety,  and  of  such  eminent  import  in  the  service 
of  the  Church  ;  the  other,  on  the  contrary,  a  true 
warrior,  unresting,  among  the  bravest  of  the  brave  in 
contempt  of  danger,  t 

*  So  far  as  I  know,  only  one  of  these  letters  is  preserved  to 
us,  but  that  a  very  interesting  one  (Gabbema,  p.  49). 
t  Gabbema,  p.  51. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND. 


339 


Advances    were   very    early    made    to    the    East 
Frisian  superintendent.  *     They  are  to  be  assigned 
to  the  period  when  he  was  living  in  retirement  as  a 
private  citizen  in  Emden,  and,  suffering  greatly  from 
the  rigour  of  the  ungenial  climate,  was  directing  his 
glance  to  the  discovery  of  another  asylum.      Often 
already  had   Duke  Albert  applied  to  him  by  letter  ; 
the    negotiations,    however,    had    come   to    nothing, 
probably  on  account  of  suspicions  raised  with  regard 
to    his    theological    standpoint,    which    was    not    in 
harmony  with  the  tendency  then  prevailing  in  Prussia. 
The  Netherlanders  who  had  escaped  from  the  perse- 
cutions of  Charles  V.,  and  settled  down  peacefully  in 
Prussian  Holland,  under  the  protection  accorded  to 
them    by  the  Duke,  had  been   fiercely  assailed    by 
Speratus   in  his    little    book    Ad   Batavos    vagantes 
(1536);  a  like  fate  was  encountered  by  our  Laski 
also  at   the  hands  of   the  Konigsberg  court    theo- 
logians.      Several    years   before   this   A   Lasco    had 
entrusted  a  manuscript  copy  of  his  Epitome  of  the 
Doctrine  of  the   East   Frisian  Church  to    Professor 
Entfelder,    of     Konigsberg,     and    Melanchthon    had 
warned  the  Duke  against  this  work.f     Yet  the  wish 
that  he  should  take  up  his  abode   in   Prussia  arose 
on  both  sides  more  than  once  after  this,  in  a  more 
palpable  form  now  in  particular,  when  communica- 
tions were  passing  with  Poland,  and  a  lively  hope 
was  awakened  of  seeing   his   native   land,  not  only 
ranged  on  the  side  of  those  who  were  endeavouring 
to  form   a  league  against  the  Emperor,  but  also  of 
like  sentiment  in  an  ecclesiastical  respect  with  these 
opponents  of  Charles  V. 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  575.  t  Compare  p.  285,  note. 


340  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

They  were  exceedingly  stirring  days  for  the 
Church  life,  those  few  weeks  which  A  Lasco  spent 
at  Konigsberg.  Only  a  half-year  before  (2/th  January, 
1549)  "Osiander,  expelled  from  Nuremberg  by  reason 
of  the  Interim,  had  reached  the  Duke's  capital,  and 
been  installed  as  minister  of  the  Church  in  the  old 
town,  in  place  of  Magister  Funck,  whom  the  Duke 
had  made  his  court-preacher.  As  early  as  the 
month  of  April,  controversies  had  broken  out. 
Osiander,  in  the  theses  with  which  he  inaugurated 
his  entrance  upon  the  office  of  professor  at  the 
University,  had  brought  out  into  bold  relief  his 
opposition  to  the  mode  of  teaching  concerning 
justification  introduced  by  Luther,  as  a  purely  judicial 
act  of  God  towards  the  believer.  "  To  justify  may 
mean  " — such  is  the  declaration  in  these  theses — "  to 
pronounce  righteous ;  according  to  the  Gospel,  it  is 
to  be  understood  as  to  make  righteous.  When  justi- 
fication is  said  to  take  place  through  faith,  the 
expression  is  an  abbreviated  one  ;  for  it  is  not  faith, 
as  something  formal,  but  Christ,  in  whom  we  believe 
as  the  subject-matter  of  faith,  who  makes  righteous. 
No  one  is  justified  without  at  the  same  time  being 
also  made  alive." ''  The  disputatious  Professor 
Lauterwald  passionately  assailed  him,  and  now  the 
tide  of  battle  swayed  to  the  one  side,  and  now  to 
the  other,  and  drew  all  the  world  into  sympathy, 
while  the  plague  was  raging  fearfully  in  the  stricken  - 
town.  A  Lasco  dwelt  at  the  house  of  Lauterwald 
during  his  stay  at  Konigsberg  ;  f  in  the  controversy 
he  took  no  part.  He  did  not  share  the  doctrine  of 


*  Hase,  p.  133. 

t  So,  at  least,  it  is  conjectured  by  Knyper  (ii.  627). 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      341 

Osiander*  Still  more  painfully  was  he  affected  by 
the  little  book  issued  by  Osiander  two  years  after- 
wards against  the  Wittenbergers,  and  especially 
against  Melanchthon.  "  It  has  now  become  a  fashion 
to  sow  new  doctrinal  differences  and  to  assail  the 
Wittenberg  school,  by  which,  nevertheless,  the  whole 
earth  was  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel, 
yea,  to  which  Osiander  also,  if  he  would  only  admit 
it,  as  is  reasonable,  is  under  very  great  obligation. 
But,  alas  !  such  are  now  the  fortunes  of  our  days," 
sighs  the  noble  man,  with  the  clear  deep  glance  into 
the  smarting  wounds  which  the  Evangelical  Church 
had  inflicted  upon  itself  in  these  passionate  feuds,  f 
During  these  theological  controversies  A  Lasco  con- 
verses with  the  Duke  on  very  serious  matters  of 
faith.  "  I  cannot  express  the  joy  which  the  letters 
of  your  Highness  afforded  me,  from  which  it  is  easy 
to  perceive  how  near  religion  lies  to  your  heart,  and 
how  careful  you  are  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the 
Christian  doctrine.  Would  that  such  a  zeal  were 
met  with,  not  only  in  other  princes,  but  even  in  the 
bulk  of  theologians  (who  yet  wish  to  be  taken  for 
pillars  of  the  Church),  and  that  at  the  same  time  in 
fair  alliance  with  that  modesty  which,  in  friendly 
spirit,  seeks  out  the  foundation  of  every  doctrine, 
and  first  listens  in  Christian  love  before  it  pro- 
nounces its  judgment,  not  to  say  its  prejudice. 
Because  your  Highness  acts  thus  in  great  kindness 
and  benevolence,  all  truly  pious  persons  must  love 
such  modesty  and  philanthropy."  J  By  what  mis- 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  663  :  "  Osiandri  neque  doctrinam  neque  insti- 
tutum  probo,  quod  quidem  ad  causam  justificationis  attinet." 

f  Ibid.,  ii.  663  ;  and  yet  more  at  large,  in  fine  outspoken- 
ness, in  the  letter  to  the  Duke,  ii.  666. 

\  Ibid.,  ii.  624. 


342  JOHN  A   LASCO. 

fortune  could  not  a  post  be  found  for  A  Lasco  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Duke  ?  It  is  a  painful  providence. 
For  the  two  heartily  devout  men  have  so  many 
endearing  points  of  contact ;  and  an  ecclesiastical 
figure  like  A  Lasco  would  really  have  redounded  to  a 
higher  blessing  for  the  land,  than  the  Funcks,  and 
StaphyhiS)  and  Morlins,  and  the  rest.  The  whole 
mental  bent  and  mode  of  thought  in  our  friend 
seemed,  as  it  were,  made  for  a  court-preacher  of  the 
Hohenzollers. 

While  A  Lasco  in  Konigsberg  was  waiting,  as  it 
would  seem  in  vain,  for  a  letter  from  his  king,  and  was 
being  initiated  by  the  Duke  into  the  secret  course 
of  the  policy  of  the  Germanic  Confederation,*  letters 
reached  him  from  Emden  which  called  for  his 
instant  return.  On  the  1st  of  August  he  was  in 
Dantsic,  and,  after  a  voyage  of  thirteen  days  from 
that  port,  again  at  home.  The  Duke  was  deeply 
concerned  about  the  progress  of  affairs  in  East 
Friesland  ;  a  lengthy  epistle  of  A  Lasco  introduces 
the  distant  noble  friend,  as  likewise,  by  a  piece  of 
good  fortune,  us  children  of  a  later  age,  into  the 
ever-shifting  course  of  events. "{"  Immediately  after 
the  departure  of  Laski  peremptory  orders  for  the 
introduction  of  the  Interim  without  a  moment's 
delay  had  reached  Emden.  The  Countess  saw  no 
way  of  escape.  Some  courtiers  drew  up  a  new 
formulary  ;  one  is  tempted  to  call  it  the  Emden 
Interim.  It  is  a  gathering  from  various  sources : 


*  Kuyper,  ii.  628.  In  this  letter  he  has  recourse  to  cipher, 
of  which  the  art  of  Kuyper  has  not  been  able  entirely  to  make 
out  the  meaning.  By  the  chameleon  I  should  conjecture  Ter 
Westen  to  be  meant. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  628. 


AT  THE  GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      343 

the  Augsburg  Interim,  intermingled  with  snatches 
from  the  long-obsolete  Luneburg  Church  Order  of 
the  days  of  Enno.*  The  Emden  ministers  refused 
their  assent  to  this  formulary,  framed  behind  their 
backs,  as  also  to  another  which  was  to  be  drawn 
up  in  concert  with  them  ;  the  citizens  espoused  the 
side  of  the  ministers.  The  church  doors  were 
closed  against  the  refractory.  "  That  is  indeed  in 
the  power  of  the  Countess,"  exclaimed  the  faithful 
confessors,  "  to  open  or  close  the  church  doors,  but, 
for  their  vocation's  sake,  they  could  not  keep  silence 
at  the  command  of  the  Regent."  The  worship  was 
held  in  the  churchyard,  and  thronged  by  yet  greater 
crowds  than  before  in  the  church.  Here,  too, 
amidst  the  graves  of  the  departed,  the  children  were 
baptised,  the  affianced,  couples  united  in  wedlock. 
Only  in  Norden  had  Lemsius  and  the  other  pastors 
of  the  Lutheran  school  submitted  to  the  Interim. 

Such  was  the  position  of  affairs  at  the  time  of 
Laski's  return.  It  was  a  joy  to  his  heart  to  behold 
the  devoted  courage  of  faith  in  his  loyal  pastors, 
the  firm  and  lively  zeal  of  the  citizens.  Very 
earnestly  did  he  appeal  to  the  conscience  of  the 
Countess,  on  account  of  her  submissiveness  to  the 
imperial  injunction.  On  this  point  the  severe 
Christian  knew  no  reserve  ;  he  spoke  without  fear  of 
man,  as  the  advocate  and  servant  of  the  Lord. 

Thus  A  Lasco  still  for  a  while  held  the  wonted 
services  in  the  churchyard,  and  weekly  also  did  the 
Coetus  meet,  when  the  superintendent  would  vigor- 

*  Meiners  (i.  308)  gives  the  date  of  this  formulary  as  i6th 
July,  1549.  A  comparison  with  the  Luneburg  ordinance  (like- 
wise in  Meiners,  i.  143)  shows  that  the  new  formulary  was 
indeed,  as  Meiners  says,  "very  greatly  pervaded  with  the 
papal  leaven." 


344  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

ously  strengthen  his  fellow-soldiers,  who,  though  de- 
prived of  their  incomes,  still  held  out  faithfully  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  But  at  the  court  of  the  Kaiser 
there  was  no  inclination  any  longer  to  tolerate  the 
presence  of  the  dreaded  man  in  East  Friesland. 
Two  grave  matters  of  accusation  were  brought 
against  him  :  that  by  private  letters  he  was  diffusing 
his  false  doctrine  even  in  the  parent-land  of  the 
Emperor,  and  that  the  journey  to  England  and 
Poland  had  no  other  object  than  the  execution  of 
certain  plots  against  his  imperial  majesty.  Of  what 
avail  was  his  defence,  that  his  doctrine  was  no 
false  doctrine,  and  that  from  all  existing  letters  it 
was  clearly  manifest  that  his  journey  had  respect 
.to  entirely  different  objects  ?  The  suspicion  was 
awakened  at  the  imperial  court,  and  the  present 
state  of  affairs  was  favourable  to  the  removal  of  the 
towering  form  in  the  neighbouring  land.  From 
Brussels  stress  was  laid  again  and  again  upon  the 
last  charge  in  particular ;  and  the  Countess,  who 
felt  herself  too  weak  to  protect  the  mighty  preacher 
of  repentance,  implored  him,  for  the  welfare  of  the 
land,  to  quit  her  domains.  A  Lasco  at  length 
yielded  to  entreaty.  In  the  middle  of  October, 
1549,  he  bade  farewell  to  the  scene  of  his  pro- 
longed labours,  extending  over  nearly  ten  years, 
and  to  the  land  which  had  become  to  him  a  second 
home.  It  was  no  dismissal,  as  we  shall  afterwards 
see,  no  actual  laying  down  of  office — only  a  with- 
drawing from  the  land  until  better  times  should 
have  dawned. 

The  honourable  leave-taking  accorded  to  A  Lasco, 
on  the  part  of  the  whole  community,  bore  brilliant 
testimony  to  the  high  esteem  in  which  the  devout 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      345 

and  fearless  man  was  held.  A  hundred  godly  men 
and  an  equal  number  of  women  were  deputed  to 
prepare  a  banquet  on  the  24th  of  September  in 
honour  of  the  departing  superintendent  and  of 
those  ministers  who  had  not  submitted  to  the 
Interim,  who,  moreover,  were  now  suffered  further 
to  continue  their  services  in  the  churchyard  without 
interruption.  A  parting  testimonial,  the  gift  of  the 
whole  Church,  was  declined  by  the  unselfish  man, 
though  at  the  time  in  circumstances  far  from  affluent. 
After  the  meal  was  ended,  and  the  tables  removed, 
the  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  earnest  ex- 
hortations to  perseverance  in  the  confession  of  the 
faith  and  in  prayer.  Then,  amidst  many  tears, 
they  accompanied  the  superintendent  to  his  home, 
and  took  leave  of  him  with  the  kiss  of  peace.  Nor 
did  the  Countess  forsake  the  man  who  had  with 
such  terrible  and  almost  relentless  candour  shown 
to  Ler  her  sins.  In  a  document  still  extant  she 
bears  witness  to  A  Lasco  that  for  a  period  of 
more  than  seven  years,  during  which  he  had  held 
the  oversight  of  the  East  Frisian  Church,  he  had 
proved  blameless,  alike  in  the  advancing  of  the  pure 
doctrine  oi  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  as  in  the  con- 
duct of  his  public  life  ;  so  that,  on  account  of  his 
faith,  his  piety,  learning,  integrity,  and  unwearied 
diligence,  to  which  testimony  all  her  subjects,  so  far 
as  they  have  the  Christian  religion  and  piety  truly 
at  heart,  would  give  their  assent,  she  would  fain  have 
retained  him  during  all  the  time  of  her  rule.  But 
the  Emperor  would  no  longer  tolerate  his  presence 
in  the  land  ;  and,  since  his  farther  stay  would 
prove  perilous  to  himself,  his  family,  and  the  whole 
land,  she  had  prevailed  on  him  to  go  elsewhere, 


346  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

to  which  he  had  consented  on  condition  that  the 
Church  should  grant  him  leave  so  to  do.  With  a 
heavy  heart,  the  Church  had  resolved  to  do  so  in 
consideration  of  the  threatening  danger,*  yet  with 
the  entreaty,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would  return 
if  God  should  again  vouchsafe  to  His  Church  to 
enjoy  calmer  times.! 

Thus  our  friend  was  obliged  to  take  up  again  the 
wanderer's  staff,  and  a  second  time  go  forth  into 
exile  for  his  Lord  Christ's  sake.  The  step  may 
well  have  cost  him  a  struggle,  as  when  ten  years 
before  he  took  leave  of  his  beloved  Poland.  But 
no  sound  of  complaint  escapes  this  spirit,  so  heroic 
in  its  resignation.  He  goes  forth,  looking  up  to  his 
Lord,  to  learn  what  land  He  will  now  show  him. 
In  the  first  place,  he  directs  his  steps  to  Bremen,  to 
repose  for  a  while  in  the  hospitable  parsonage  of 
his  old  friend,  and  to  abide  in  the  vicinity  of  that 
land  which  during  a  decennium  he  has  regarded 
with  so  great  affection.  He  looked  upon  himself 
still  as  the  spiritual  adviser  of  the  bereaved  Church, 
and  felt  himself  bound  to  assist  it  with  his  counsel 
in  this  time  of  severe  trial.  A  charming  letter  of 
consolation  to  his  ministerial  brethren  at  Emden 
has  come  down  to  us.J  He  cannot  and  will  not 
relax  in  his  care  and  sympathy  for  them  and  the 
whole  East  Frisian  Church  so  long  as  he  lives.  He 
beseeches  them  to  continue  faithful,  to  keep  the 
Church  united,  to  exhort  the  members  to  persever- 

*  Emmius  relates  (p.  939)  that  the  Church  unanimously 
refused  the  dismissal,  and  only  conceded  to  him  the  liberty  of 
departing  for  a  time  in  order  to  escape  the  rage  of  Antiochus, 
until  at  a  fitting  period  they  should  recall  him. 

t  Kuyper,  ii.  635. 

J  Ibid.,  p.  637. 


AT  THE   GOAL  I1V  EAST  FRIESLAND.      347 

ance  in  their  confession,  as  also  to  endurance  in 
the  spirit  of  gentleness  and  thanksgiving.  The 
letter  concludes  with  the  words,  "  Let  us  entreat 
of  the  Lord  to  have  mercy  upon  His  Church,  so 
greatly  distracted,  and  by  His  Holy  Spirit  so  to 
lead  and  guide  us  in  His  service,  that  one  day, 
raised  up  with  our  congregation,  we  may  be  able  to 
hear  those  longed-for  words,  '  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
My  Father.' "  To  others  also,  private  persons  in 
Emden,  letters  of  earnest  exhortation  were  addressed, 
a  very  memorable  one,  for  instance,  to  his  friend 
Lent/tins,  secretary  to  the  Countess.  "  I  pray  thee, 
my  Lenthius,  continue  in  thy  post  ;  but  withal  ever 
be  mindful  of  that  '  unto  the  threshold  of  the 
altar.'  It  is  a  grave  thing  to  incur  guilt  in  regard 
to  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  From  the  guilt 
of  this  transgression  no  one  will  one  day  be  able 
to  release  himself  who  stands  in  such  association 
with  any  counsels  against  the  Church  of  Christ  and 
His  office,  as  not  according  to  the  measure  of  his 
vocation  to  testify  his  disapproval  thereof,  not  to 
say  if  he  wittingly  and  willingly  affords  aid  there- 
in."* 

He  had  left  his  family  at  his  country-house  ;  he 
wished  to  spare  them  the  vicissitudes  of  a  homeless 
wandering  in  the  midst  of  the  winter.  They 
remained  at  Abbingwehr,  commended  to  the  faith- 
ful charge  of  his  congregation.f 

A  man  had  actually  presented  himself  who, 
despite  all  the  warnings  of  Laski  that  his  removal 
was  only  a  temporary  one,  despite  all  the  depreca- 
tory letters  from  the  most  diverse  quarters,  could 
set  himself  to  obtain  the  office  of  a  superintendent  in 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  640.  t  Ibid.,  p.  638. 


348  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

Emden,  and  thereby  to  represent  Laski  as  perma- 
nently relieved  of  his  post,  to  the  joy  of  the  imperial 
party, — Nicolai  Biiscoducensis  ( Van  den  Bossche)  to 
wit,*  whose  brother,  court-preacher  in  Denmark,  we 
shall  unhappily  very  soon  have  occasion  for  becom- 
ing acquainted  with.  Laski  cannot  bring  himself 
to  believe  such  procedure  possible  on  the  part  of  an 
evangelical  preacher.  "  If,  however,  he  should 
venture  on  it,  God  will  punish  him,  that  others  may 
take  warning." 

With  regard  to  the  stay  of  Laski  in  Bremen  but 
little  is  known  to  us.  It  is  characteristic  of  the 
man  that  during  his  sojourn  in  that  town  he  received 
the  Holy  Supper  at  the  hand  of  the  strict  Lutheran 
Timann.  Such  an  incident  at  that  time  created  no 
disagreement,  although  the  Bremen  clergy  were 
accurately  informed  as  to  the  views  of  Laski.  For 
he  had  at  the  same  time  explained  his  view  at  large 
in  a  letter  to  the  Bremen  clergy,  now  unhappily  lost, 
probably  having  reference  to  a  conference."]"  But 
then  in  1550  people  did  not  cherish  the  same  rigid 
and  harsh  notions  about  admission  to  the  Table  of 
the  Lord,  as  was  the  case  a  few  years  afterwards. J 

In  the  first  days  of  April,  1550,  A  Lasco  repaired 
to  Hamburg.  He  had  come  to  the  resolution  in  the 
course  of  the  winter  of  accepting  a  call  to  London, 
seeing  that  a  favourable  turn  to  affairs  in  East 
Friesland  was  not  to  be  looked  for  very  soon.  He 
hoped  more  easily  to  find  an  opportunity  for  embark- 
ing on  the  Elbe  than  on  the  Weser.  Here  he  had  to 

*  On  this  man  compare  also  Wolters,  Reformationsgesch. 
der  Stadt  Wesel  (Bonn,  1868),  p.  97,  etc. 
t  Kuyper,  i.  liii. 
%  Compare  Spiegel,  p.  140. 


AT  THE   GOAL  IN  EAST  FRIESLAND.      349 

wait  about  a  month,  during  which  time  he  was  much 
in  converse  with  sEpinus,  the  chief  pastor  of  the  town. 
That  which  A  Lasco  had  endured  on  account  of  the 
Interim  led  the  strictly  Lutheran  pastor  to  overlook 
the  doctrinal  differences  which  separated  them.  In 
these  days  the  exile  held  friendly  converse  with 
Westphal  too.*  A  decennium  later  A  Lasco  re- 
minded this  his  passionate  opponent  of  those  Ham- 
burg days.  In  many  a  familiar  conversation  he  had, 
as  he  tells  him,  unfolded  before  him  the  doctrine 
which  he  had  constantly  proclaimed  in  East  Fries- 
land  ;  but  at  that  time  it  had  not  appeared  blasphe- 
mous to  Westphal ;  nor  had  he  on  account  of  it  made 
any  break  in  his  intercourse  with  A  Lasco. \ 

Here  in  Hamburg  important  and  long-looked-for 
letters  reached  our  friend.  From  the  King  of  Poland 
he  received  the  desired  written  testimony  exonerat- 
ing him  from  the  charge  of  ever  having  entered  into 
any  plot  with  him  against  Charles  V.,  unhappily 
only  this  testimony ;  that  other  hope,  namely,  of 
being  recalled  to  his  native  land  in  order  to  preach 
the  Gospel  there,  is  passed  over  without  reference  in 
the  royal  autograph.  "  He  desires  me  still  to  wait. 
Therefore  I  too  will  not  yet  give  up  hope."  f  When 
indeed  did  a  Pole,  in  his  touching  love  of  country, 
ever  yet  abandon  such  hope  of  return  ?  The  letters 
from  England  contained  important  political  news, 
which  he  hastened  to  communicate  to  Duke  Albert. 

*  We  look  upon  this  man  as  the  one,  of  all  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Lutheran  orthodoxy,  who  has  exerted  the  most 
fatal  influence  upon  the  progress  of  the  Evangelical  Church. 
To  our  regret,  we  shall  have  so  often  to  meet  with  him  in  the 
subsequent  history. 

f  Kuyper,  ii.  639. 

j  Ibid.,  p.  22. 


350  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

The  senders  are  unknown  to  us ;  but  they  must 
have  filled  high  posts  in  the  State,  and  it  is  a  mark 
of  the  great  confidence  reposed  by  them  in  A  Lasco, 
that  they  should  make  communications  to  him  of 
such  nature  that  he  ventures  to  transmit  part  of 
them  to  the  Duke  only  in  cipher. 

The  letters  were,  however,  at  the  same  time,  the 
messengers  to  announce  to  A  Lasco  how  greatly  his 
co-operation  was  counted  on  in  London  ;  and  so 
soon  as  the  attack  of  ague  had  only  abated — in  the 
first  days  of  May — he  embarked  for  that  land,  which, 
no  less  than  East  Friesland,  his  Lord  Christ  had 
certainly  assigned  to  him  as  the  scene  of  his 
abundantly  blessed  labours. 


IX. 

IN  ENGLAND. 

HOW  entirely  different,  after  all,  was  the  course 
of  the  Reformation  at  the  outset  in  England 
from  that  which  it  was  on  the  Continent. 

It  was  a  restless  anxiety  about  his  soul's  salvation 
which  led  the  Augustin  monk  into  the  depths  of 
Holy  Scripture  ;  and,  so  soon  as  he  had  found  the 
heart's  core  of  Scripture,  Jesus  Christ  as  our  only 
justification  before  God,  it  was  the  goad  of  God's 
truth  which  impelled  him  in  heartfelt  compassion  to 
testify  among  his  people  of  that  which  he  had 
himself  experienced  to  his  spiritual  life  ;  it  was 
this  which  urged  him,  in  glad  and  fearless  spirit,  to 
stand  up,  in  presence  of  kaiser  and  kingdom,  in 
defence  of  his  treasure  before  all  the  world.  His 
word  wrought  like  a  work  of  redemption  upon  all 
the  German  people,  who  rose  up  for  him  and  made 
his  cause  their  own,  unconcerned  about  any  con- 
sequences, careless  what  gain  or  loss  should  arise 
from  such  action  for  the  nation,  contented  with  the 
peace  which  the  Gospel  afforded  to  the  spirit.  Over 
there  in  England  it  is  a  violent  and  disputatious 
king  who  at  first  couches  the  lance  against  Luther, 
and  rejoices  in  having  received  from  Leo  X.  the  title 
of  Fidei  Defensor  in  reward  for  his  literary  passage 


352  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  arms.  Rougher  indeed,  but  quite  as  befitting, 
was  the  name  with  which  the  German  Reformer 
dubbed  the  crowned  head  of  England  when,  in 
petulant  mood,  he  greeted  him  as  "  mad  Harry." 
The  King  seemed  bent  on  justifying  the  appellation. 
The  passionate  desire  for  ridding  himself  of  Catharine 
of  Arragon,  to  whom  he  had  been  married  many 
long  years,  in  order  to  be  able  to  raise  to  the 
rank  of  queen  and  consort  her  maid-of-honour, 
Anne  Bolcyn,  gave  the  first  impulse  to  his  effort 
to  free  himself  from  the  power  of  the  Pope,  who 
refused  the  needed  consent  to  a  divorce.  Had  this 
been  the  only  cause,  he  would  have  been  unequal 
to  the  task  of  successfully  carrying  into  effect  a 
change  involving  such  far-reaching  consequences. 
But  even  before  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  in 
particular,  with  brilliant  result,  under  the  vigorous 
Edward  IV.,  the  power  of  the  kingdom,  and  in 
a  corresponding  degree  that  of  the  ruler,  had  been 
gradually  consolidated.  Francis  I.  became  a  suitor 
for  England's  favour,  and,  almost  simultaneously  with 
him,  diaries  V.  (1520 — 1521);  in  the  influential 
adviser  of  the  King,  Thomas  Wolsey,  who  had  early 
in  life  been  promoted  to  the  dignity  of  cardinal,  not 
a  few — and  himself  among  the  foremost — thought 
they  could  discern  the  future  Pope.  What  bold 
plans  were  formed  by  the  ambitious  candidate,  who 
impatiently  awaited  the  death  of  Hadrian  for  the 
fulfilment  of  his  wish,  which  nevertheless  was  not 
destined  to  receive  its  fulfilment  in  his  favour  ! 
When  the  honest  Hadrian  VI.,  weary  of  the  papal 
dignity,  died  at  the  expiration  of  a  single  year 
(September,  1523),  Julius  Medici  became  pope,  and 
continued  to  hold  that  office  until  the  fatal  die  had 


IN  ENGLAND.  353 


been  cast  in  England.  Clement  VII.  hesitated  to 
declare  the  marriage  of  Henry  VIII.  illegal,  and 
thereby  to  brand  as  illegitimate  the  cousin  of  the 
Emperor,  the  Princess  Mary,  who  was  born  of  this 
union.  Henry  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  answer 
this  delay  with  the  resolute  declaration  that  the 
power  of  the  papal  see  over  England  was  abrogated. 
By  the  renowned  Act  of  Supremacy  of  the  year 
1534,  Parliament  confirmed  the  royal  decree  to  the 
effect  that  the  King  was  the  only  head  upon  earth 
of  the  Church  of  England.  It  was  too  late  when 
Paul  III.,  who  had  just  ascended  the  papal  throne, 
and  at  once  discerned  all  the  peril  for  the  Romish 
Church,  sought  to  mend  matters.  The  decree 
accorded  so  fully  with  the  wishes  of  the  King,  as 
also  with  those  of  his  people ;  and  the  English 
clergy  themselves  had  approved  of  this  decision, 
partly  in  the  hope  of  averting  by  such  assent  what 
appeared  to  them  the  still  greater  evil  of  the 
Reformation  in  England  :  in  this  land  the  object 
had  been  attained  which  the  popes  had  in  vain 
striven  to  accomplish, — the  union  of  the  twofold 
power  upon  one  head.  For  his  own  kingdom 
Henry  VIII.  was  king  and  pope. 

The  accomplishment  of  a  reformation  was  at 
first  far  from  the  thoughts  of  Henry.  He  had 
gained  that  which  he  sought.  All  connection 
with  the  Bishop  of  Rome  was  broken  off ;  no  Peter's 
pence  were  suffered  any  longer  to  flow  into  the 
papal  treasury  ;  all  ecclesiastical  cases,  which  till 
then  could  be  disposed  of  only  in  Rome,  were 
henceforth  to  be  decided  in  England.  The  Church's 
order  was  changed,  the  Church's  doctrine  was  left 
untouched  by  the  Fidei  Dcfensor.  More  powerful 

33 


354  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

however,  than  a  king,  than  a  whole  clergy,  is  the 
spirit  which  sways  an  age,  and  impresses  on  it  its 
royal  seal  as  a  mark  of  God.  Nowhere  in  those 
days  could  one  touch  an  ecclesiastical  question,  even 
though  it  were  lying  on  the  outermost  circumference  of 
Church  politics,  without  being  drawn  into  the  stream 
of  the  Reformational  movement,  which  ran  through 
the  whole  Christian  world.  By  whatever  imperious 
and  violent,  nay  even  sanguinary  measures,  Henry 
VIII.,  as  pope-king,  sought  to  guard  his  Church 
against  the  inroads  of  the  Reformed  doctrine,  he 
was  himself  led  to  vacillate  as  regards  their  applica- 
tion, partly  by  the  stress  of  politics,  partly  by  the 
varying  influence  of  the  families  from  which  he 
chose  his  wives  in  such  rapid  succession  ;  and,  apart 
from  these  considerations,  the  Reformation  forced 
its  way  in  spite  of  everything,  because  it  was 
animated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  breatheth 
where  He  listeth. 

A  foundation  on  which  the  Reformation  could 
work  presented  itself  here  and  there  in  the  land. 
Wyclifs  preaching,  though  now  no  longer  heard  for 
well  nigh  two  hundred  years  past,  had  not  yet 
entirely  ceased  to  find  an  echo  among  the  populace. 
The  people  have  everywhere  a  wondrously  faithful 
memory  for  such  words.  The  influence  of  the 
Lollards  had  been  driven  into  obscurity  in  the  course 
of  time,  under  the  pressure  of  relentless  persecution  ; 
but  now  once  more  began  to  manifest  itself  in 
quarters  where  one  would  hardly  suspect  its  exist- 
ence. The  people  eagerly  sought  after  the  Bible  ; 
the  saying  of  the  Doctor  Evangelicus  in  particular,  by 
which  name  Wyclif  had  been  known,  was  treasured 
in  memory  by  them,  namely,  that  certainty  is  to  be 


IN  ENGLAND.  355 


found  in  Holy  Scripture  alone.  And  now  they 
received  the  Bible  again  in  their  mother-tongue,  and 
that  not,  as  in  Wyclifs  day,  in  a  translation  from  the 
Vulgate,  but,  as  with  the  other  peoples  of  the 
Reformation,  drawn  from  the  living  fountain  of  the 
original  language.  In  his  exile  at  Antwerp  the 
pious  Tyndale  wrought  at  the  completion  of  his 
great  work,  with  twofold  eagerness  since  his  faith- 
ful fellow-labourer  yV^2  FrytJi  had  at  home  died  a 
martyr's  death  (1534).*  Almost  every  ship  which 
sailed  from  the  Schelde  to  England  carried  the 
forbidden  fruit  on  board  ;  and  there  the  book  passed 
from  hand  to  hand,  everywhere  scattering  the  sacred 
seed-corn,  which  accomplishes  that  whereto  it  is 
sent,  f 

Strange  and  troublous  times  had  fallen  upon  the 
land  under  the  government  of  the  imperious  pope- 
king.  Two  forces  were  pitted  against  each  other  : 
on  the  one  side  the  King,  who  would  brook  no 
opposition,  and  yet  encountered  a  sharp  opposition 
in  his  own  conscience,  which  on  more  than  one 
occasion  he  seemed  to  combat  as  his  adversary  ;  on 
the  other  side  the  admonitory  conscience  of  the 
people  in  the  morning  light  of  the  Reformation,  to 
which,  however,  there  was  as  yet  lacking  the  inter- 
preter and  leader  who,  in  language  bold  and  clear 
and  outspoken,  should  with  holy  wrath  maintain  the 


*  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments  (edition  1877),  v.,  pp.  16  and 
127. 

t  The  sharp  watch  which  was  kept  upon  the  dangerous 
book  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  of  the  first  edition  of  Tyndale's 
translation,  of  which  three  thousand  copies  were  printed, 
only  a  single  copy  has  hitherto  been  found.  Compare  Hard- 
wick,  History  of  Christian  Church  during  the  Reforma- 
tion, p.  196. 


356  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

cause  of  the  Gospel.  It  thus  came  to  pass  that 
Protestants  and  Catholics  were  called  upon  to 
surrender  their  lives  as  martyrs  at  the  same  stake.* 
The  most  considerable  influence,  after  the  death  of 
Wolsey,  had  been  acquired  by  Thomas  Cranmer, 
like  our  Laski  in  his  youth  a  disciple  of  Faber 
Stapulensis  and  of  Erasmus.  When  only  forty- 
three  years  of  age  the  gifted  Humanist,  who  had 
already  wedded  the  niece  of  the  Nuremberg  Re- 
former, Osiander,  was  made  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury (1532);  he  had  been  held  in  estimation  by 
the  King  ever  since  1528,  when  he  had  given  his 
opinion  in  writing  to  the  effect  that  the  King's 
marriage  with  the  brother's  widow  was  null  and 
void.  Thus  placed  at  the  head  of  the  English 
Church,  Cranmer,  by  virtue  of  the  Act  of  Supremacy, 
became  primate  of  all  England.  By  conviction  he 
belonged  to  the  party  of  the  Reformation  ;  but  there 
was  still  lacking  in  him  that  invincible  power  of 
faith  which  can  do  all  things.  The  face  was  turned 
towards  the  Reformation,  but  the  feet  were  still,  as 
it  were,  rooted  to  the  ground  of  Erasmus.  And 
yet  the  English  Church  probably  owes  its  continued 
existence  to  the  fact  that,  for  a  number  of  years  in 
succession,  the  helm  of  affairs  was  in  the  hands  of  a 
person  of  this  nature  :  in  a  rough  and  stormy  age 
he  proved  himself  master  of  the  art  of  tacking  and 
veering,  and  thereby  preserving  the  vessel  from 
running  aground  upon  the  reef  of  the  King's  dis- 
favour. For  Cranmer  the  conviction  that  the  King 
was  God's  vicegerent,  and  within  his  kingdom  the 
representative  of  Christ,  was  a  sort  of  article  of 

*  Ranke,  Englische  Geschichte  (Leipsic,  1877),  p.  164. 


IN  ENGLAND.  357 


faith.  The  recognition  of  this  fact  places  in  a  more 
favourable  light  many  an  act  of  otherwise  doubtful 
aspect  ;  for  his  actions  are  the  result  not  of  cowardice, 
but  of  the  consistent  maintenance  of  his  conviction, 
honourable  even  when  we  cannot  share  that  con- 
viction itself.  He  believed  that  a  task  was  assigned 
to  his  king  akin  to  that  which  was  once,  in  the  case 
of  the  ancient  people  of  God,  assigned  to  Josiah  ; 
and  deemed  it  a  sacred  duty  to  aid  his  king  in  this 
task.  Not  seldom  he  manifested  a  shrewd  judg- 
ment in  deriving  a  gain  to  the  Protestant  Church 
even  from  the  vexatious  marriage  affairs  of  the 
King  ;  he  grew  not  weary  of  extorting  from  the 
very  waywardness  of  the  King  concessions  in  favour 
of  his  religious  conviction.  His  nature,  strongly 
inclining  to  a  middle  course,  was  able  to  accommodate 
itself  to  many  a  humour  of  the  King ;  he  thus 
rescued  and  preserved  to  a  more  favourable  time 
the  cause  entrusted  to  him. 

This  more  favourable  time  dawned  with  the  death 
of  Henry  VIII,  (1547).  England  would  not  have 
been  able  to  endure  his  government  much  longer  ; 
the  land  was  now  called  to  decide  whether  it  would 
belong  to  Protestantism  or  Catholicism.  The 
hybrid  form  in  which  Henry  VIII,  would  hold  it 
bound,  complying  in  this,  it  is  true,  with  the  wish  of 
the  people,  could  last  no  longer.  In  accordance 
with  the  will  of  the  King,  the  heir-apparent  to  the 
throne  was  his  son,  Edward  VI.,  then  a  prince  of 
nine  years,  whose  birth  had  cost  the  life  of  his 
young  mother,  Jane  Seymour,  the  King's  third  and 
dearest  wife.  When,  immediately  after  the  King's 
death,  the  will  was  opened,  the  choice  of  the  sixteen 
men  who  were  appointed  to  form  the  council  of  the 


358  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

regency  during  the  King's  minority  had  the  effect 
of  giving  the  preponderance  to  the  party  favour- 
able to  the  Reformation.  This  preponderance 
became  still  more  decisive  when  these  men  pro- 
ceeded almost  unanimously  to  elect  the  King's 
uncle,  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  who  had  already,  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  late  King's  wish, 
been  created  Duke  of  Somerset*  Lord  Protector 
of  the  kingdom.  The  principal  power  was  now 
vested  in  the  hands  of  two  men  who  publicly 
rendered  homage  to  the  Protestant  cause,  and  were 
sufficiently  strong  and  unimpeded  to  be  able  to 
carry  out  their  conviction,  even  in  spite  of  the  pro- 
tests of  the  opposite  party.  They  exerted  great 
influence  upon  the  King,  who,  far  in  advance  of  his 
years,  willingly  and  with  joy  followed  such  influence. 
From  childhood  he  had  been  instructed  in  these 
views,  and  his  tutors  belonged  to  the  same  Reforma- 
tional  school.  Even  at  his  coronation  the  Primate 
set  forth  to  the  boy-king  the  example  of  Josiah  ; 
like  him,  Edward  was  to  destroy  the  image-worship 
in  his  kingdom,  and  to  introduce  the  true  worship 
of  God.  Cranmer  himself  regarded  it  as  his  sacred 
duty  to  smooth  the  way  thereto  for  his  youthful 
king. 

Without  delay  the  work  was  set  about.  The 
bishops  who  were  attached  to  the  old  religion  were 
pushed  into  the  background,  and  gradually  removed  ; 
new  administrators  occupied  their  place,  partly  such 
as  had  suffered  imprisonment  under  the  former  King 
on  account  of  their  evangelical  conviction,  partly 
such  as,  in  order  to  escape  it,  had  fled  to  the  Conti- 

*  Burnet,  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Church  of 
England  (London,  without  date),  ii.,  p.  9. 


IN  ENGLAND. 


359 


nent,  and  had  now  found  a  hospitable  asylum  in 
Strassburg,  Zurich,  Geneva,  and  elsewhere.  The 
thanks  for  the  asylum  granted, — not  in  those  days 
everywhere  willingly  and  freely  accorded, — were 
rendered  by  the  returning  exiles  by  their  obtaining 
the  victory  in  their  own  land  for  those  doctrines  in 
which  they  had  themselves  been  established  during 
their  banishment.  The  images,  to  the  adoration  of 
which  the  multitude  clung  as  to  a  main  article  of 
their  religion,  were  removed  from  the  churches,  not 
seldom  in  a  rough  iconoclastic  fashion  ;  *  the  mass 
for  the  dead,  as  likewise  the  denial  of  the  cup  to  the 
laity,  was  interdicted  ;  soon  after  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  also  was  rejected,  and  a  visitation 
of  the  churches  throughout  the  land  was  instituted. 
The  disclosures  made  by  this  visitation  were,  as 
everywhere,  extremely  lamentable  :  the  people  had 
been  retained  in  terrible  ignorance  in  matters  of 
faith  ;  the  clergy  were  incapable  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  and  shedding  the  light  of  the  Word  of  God 
into  the  dark  night  of  superstition.  The  Archbishop 
issued  a  collection  of  homilies,  bearing  on  the 
principal  matters  of  doctrine,  to  be  read  publicly  in 
country  places  ;  f  in  addition  to  this,  the  ablest 
preachers  were  sent  to  assist  the  Church  visitors  by 
preaching  in  the  most  diverse  localities.  These 
were  only  temporary  expedients  ;  in  order  to  effect 
a  radical  improvement,  recourse  must  be  had  to 
more  sweeping  measures.  It  was  necessary  to 
provide  a  qualified  teaching  faculty  at  the  Univer- 

*  Compare  Foxe,  v.  697  seq.  ;  mainly  on  his  authority,  Burnet, 
ii.  17  seq. 

t  Of  these  twelve  homilies,  which  appeared  in  1547,  three 
are  by  Cranmer  himself.  Compare  Hardwick,  Reformation, 
p.  211. 


360  JOHN  A    LA  SCO. 

sity,  and  to  form  an  efficient  staff  of  preachers. 
England  itself  could  not  as  yet  furnish  these  means  ; 
on  the  Continent  there  was  a  readiness  to  come  to 
its  aid  in  this  respect.  Only  a  few  months  after  the 
accession  of  Edward,  we  see  men  of  note,  like  Peter 
Martyr  Vermigli*  Bernardino  OcJiino^  and  others, 
occupied  in  England — the  former  in  Oxford,  ex- 
pounding the  Word  of  God  to  the  students  in  his 
clear,  profound  manner ;  the  latter,  in  the  first 
instance,  as  preacher  to  the  Italian  fugitives  in 
London,  and  engaged  in  a  brisk  literary  activity  in 
the  immediate  surroundings  of  the  Archbishop. 

With  the  successful  progress  of  these  essential 
innovations,  the  field  of  the  wishes  yet  to  be  realised 
on  the  part  of  the  Lord  Protector  and  the  Primate 
gradually  widened.  Cranmer  saw  the  moment 
approaching  in  which  the  Reformation  would  hold 
its  full  entry  into  England;  he  did  not  feel  himself 
secure  in  answering  the  questions  then  pressing  for 
decision  alone  or  only  in  concert  with  the  fellow- 
workers  of  kindred  spirit  in  the  land,  and  longed  for 
the  counsel  and  assistance  of  the  most  eminent 
Reformers  of  the  Continent.  The  trying  state  of 
affairs  abroad  in  consequence  of  the  painful  issue 
of  the  Smalcald  war,  and  still  more  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Interim,  seemed  to  the  Archbishop  to 
present  a  favourable  opportunity  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  plan.  He  could  promise  a  safe  asylum 
on  the  hospitable  shores  of  England  to  those  who 
had  been  driven  from  house  and  home.  Who  in 


*  Compare  Schmidt,  Peter  Martyr  Vermigli  (Elberf.,  1858), 
p.  75  seq. 

t  Compare  Benrath,  Bernardino  Ochino  (Leipsic,  1875), 
p.  209  seq. 


IN  ENGLAND.  361 


those  days  could  feel  any  security  in  his  labours, 
far  as  the  mighty  power  of  the  Emperor  extended  ? 
Then  followed  on  all  sides  invitations  to  come  to 
England,  in  what  a  hearty  and  pressing  manner 
is  evident  if  we  cite  only  a  passage  from  a  letter  of 
Cranmer  to  Buccr,  under  date  of  2nd  October,  1548  : 
"In  the  meantime,  while  the  storm  [of  the  Interim] 
is  raging,  it  behoves  all  those  who  cannot  put  out 
with  their  vessel  to  the  open  sea  to  betake  them- 
selves to  the  harbour.  To  you,  therefore,  my  Bucer, 
our  kingdom  will  be  a  most  safe  harbour,  wherein, 
by  the  favour  of  God,  the  seeds  of  the  true  doctrine 
have  happily  begun  to  be  sown.  Come  over  there- 
fore to  us,  and  become  a  labourer  with  us  in  the 
harvest  of  the  Lord.  You  will  not  be  of  less  benefit 
to  the  universal  Church  of  God,  while  you  are  with 
us,  than  if  you  retain  your  present  position.  More- 
over, you  will  the  better  be  able  to  heal  the  wounds 
of  your  distressed  country  [Strassburg  had  till  then 
refused  submission  to  the  Interim  *]  than  you  are 
now  able  to  do  in  person.  Laying  aside  therefore 
all  delay,  come  over  to  us  as  soon  as  possible."! 
The  plan  which  Cranmer  had  before  his  mind  in  the 
invitation  of  these  eminent  men  to  England  receives 
additional  light  from  his  letter  to  A  Lasco  :  "  We  are 
desirous  of  setting  forth  in  our  Churches  the  true 
doctrine  of  God,  and  to  hand  down  to  our  descend- 
ants a  true  and  explicit  form  of  doctrine,  agreeable 
to  the  rule  of  Holy  Scripture,  thus  to  offer  to  all 
nations  an  illustrious  testimony  on  the  part  of  our 
teachers,  and  one  supported  by  the  grave  authority 

*  Baum,  Capita  und  Butzer   (Elberf.,  1860),  p.  542. 
t   Original  Letters  relative  to  the  English.  Reformation 
(Cambridge,  1846),  i.,  p.  20. 


362  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

of  learned  and  godly  men,  and  to  afford  to  our 
posterity  a  pattern  of  doctrine  which  they  can 
imitate.  For  the  carrying  of  this  important  design 
into  execution,  we  have  thought  it  necessary  to  have 
the  assistance  of  learned  men,  who,  having  compared 
their  opinions  together  with  us,  may  do  away  with 
all  doctrinal  controversies  and  build  up  a  complete 
system  \integrum  corpus]  of  the  true  doctrine."  * 

In  the  execution  of  such  a  far-reaching  and 
important  plan,  it  seems  to  us  almost  self-evident 
that  our  friend  is  to  be  enrolled  among  this  noble 
band,  and  indeed  in  the  foremost  rank.  He  had 
within  a  few  years  accomplished  a  work  in  East 
Friesland  such  as  called  forth  wondering  admira- 
tion, f  Two  men,  more  especially,  had  drawn  the 
attention  of  the  Primate  of  England  to  Laski — Peter 
Martyr,  who  had  known  and  learnt  to  esteem  our 
friend  in  Strassburg,  and  the  physician  Dr.  William 
Turner.^.  The  latter  had  years  before  been  com- 
pelled, for  his  faith's  sake,  to  leave  England,  and 
had  lived  during  the  interval  at  Emden,  in  intimate 
brotherly  converse  with  A  Lasco.  Recalled  by  the 
Lord  Protector  in  the  capacity  of  physician-in- 
ordinary  to  the  King,  he  'took  a  lively  part  in  the 
advancement  of  the  Reformation,  and  did  not  fail 
to  call  attention  again  and  again  to  the  important 

*  The  original  in  Gabbema,  p.  108  ;  an  English  translation 
in  Original  Letters,  i.,  p.  17. 

t  Compare  the  testimony  of  Emmius,  p.  935. 

j  Dr.  William  Turner,  author  of  a  treatise  against  the 
mass  (1548),  as  of  a  work  against  Rome  in  1543,  was  made 
Dean  of  Wells  in  1550,  and  was  again  an  exile  in  1553. 
Published  the  first  English  Herbal  (1558)  Restored  to  his 
deanery  1559.  Died  I3th  July,  1568.  His  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  by  his  friend  Thomas  Lever.  See  Bishop  Park- 
hurst's  remarks  (Zurich  Letters,  i.,  p.  206). — TR. 


IN  ENGLAND.  363 


power  yonder  in  East  Friesland.  As  early  as  the 
spring  of  1548  the  first  inquiries  came  from  London. 
These  were  repeated  in  the  summer  of  that  year, 
accompanied  with  the  urgent  request  that  he  would 
make  use  of  all  his  persuasive  art  to  induce 
Melanchthon  also  to  join  in  this  work.  A  Lasco 
was  not  deficient  in  the  force  of  his  appeals  to 
Wittenberg.  "  Since  then  you  see,  my  Philip, 
whither  and  to  what  end  you  are  called,  and  like- 
wise with  what  zeal  on  the  part  of  all  men  who 
love  you  and  the  true  religion,  I  know  not  with 
what  conscience  you  can  disregard  this  call,  specially 
when  you  consider  that  you  have  no  other  certain 
calling  which  you  can  justly  oppose  to  this  one. 
If  you  could  oppose  no  difficulty,  in  the  case  of 
a  like  call,  to  the  venerable  old  man  the  Bishop 
of  Cologne,  it  will  certainly  not  be  permitted  you 
now,  on  an  occasion  so  much  more  important.  I 
know  how  unwilling  your  friends  would  be,  par- 
ticularly at  this  time,  to  let  you  go  thither,  and 
with  what  reluctance  you  would  leave  them  ;  but 
I  fear  that  not  all  there  listen  to  you  as  they  ought."* 
Melanchthon  did  not  remove.  Troublous  days 
had  indeed  set  in  for  him.  The  Diet  of  Meissen  (rst 
July,  1548),  at  which  he  had  delivered  so  sharp 
and  scathing  a  criticism  on  the  Interim, t  had  been 
followed  in  rapid  succession  by  some  two  or  three 
other  conventions,  of  which  the  Leipsic  Interim 
was  the  outcome.  If  he  had  repaired  to  England, 
his  name  would  not  have  been  associated  with 
this  "piece  of  patch  work,"  \  to  use  no  stronger 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  619. 

t  Compare  Melanchthon,  vii.  13  seq. 

%  Schmidt,  Philip  Melanchthon  (Elberf.,  1861),  p.  508. 


364  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

expression.  A  Lasco  recognised  the  high  signifi- 
cance of  the  call  to  London  ;  the  reasons  with  which 
he  sought  to  gain  over  Melanchthon  were  decisive 
for  himself.  It  was  not  an  easy  matter  for  him 
either,  though  it  were  but  for  a  few  months,  to 
leave  his  East  Friesland  just  at  that  crisis.  But, 
at  the  cost  of  a  heavy  sacrifice,  he  acquired  an 
influence  upon  the  development  of  the  Church  of 
England  which  is  felt  to  the  present  day.  For 
a  man  of  his  broad  and  liberal  views  with  regard 
to  the  whole  Church  of  Christ,  this  sacrifice  was 
not  too  great. 

Cranmer  and  the  Lord  Protector  sought  to  be 
aided  with  counsel  ;  this  counsel  Wittenberg  refused 
in  the  most  decisive  hour.  We  cannot  then  wonder 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England  has 
received  an  impress  which  does  not  originate  in 
the  school  of  LutJier.  It  might  still  have  acquired 
a  Lutheran  impress  at  this  time,  perhaps,  with  a 
glance  at  the  preliminary  negotiations  of  the  year 
!53£>  we  ought  rather  to  say,  have  renewed  and 
preserved  it. 

i.  FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  ENGLAND. 

Three  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  imperial 
messenger  in  Emden,  at  the  end  of  August,  1548, 
A  Lasco,  with  the  consent  of  the  Countess,  quitted 
East  Friesland.  The  journey  was  a  perilous  one  ; 
everywhere  the  imperial  bailiffs  were  on  the  watch 
to  seize  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  Protestants  ; 
and  A  Lasco  in  particular  would  have  been  a 
welcome  booty  to  them.  He  had,  moreover,  to 
pursue  his  route  through  hostile  territory.  While 
the  Emperor  had  already  begun  to  hold  his  court 


IN  ENGLAND  365 


in  Brussels,  our  Pole,  in  disguise  and  under  an 
assumed  name,  rode  through  Holland,  Brabant, 
Flanders.  No  one  recognised  him  ;  without  molesta- 
tion he  was  suffered  to  reach  the  sea  at  Calais,* 
then  still  in  the  possession  of  the  English.  Here 
one  could  always  depend  on  finding  a  ship  bound 
for  the  coast  of  England.  In  the  beginning  of 
September  our  friend  arrived  safely  in  London. 

Laski  found  already  present  on  his  arrival  a  capti- 
vating circle  of  kindred  minds  from  the  Continent, 
a  circle  enlarging  from  week  to  week,  all  animated 
with  the  earnest  wish  of  assisting  with  counsel  and 
action  the  Archbishop  and  the  like-minded  men  of 
England  in  their  great  work  of  reformation.  In 
Oxford  Peter  Martyr  had  already  been  labouring 
almost  a  year  with  marked  success,  and  simultane- 
ously with  him  OcJdno  had  arrived  (2Oth  December, 
1547)  ;  he  had  been  made  Prebendary  of  Canter- 
bury, and  found  work  among  his  numerous  country- 
men, fugitives  from  Italy,  f 

Later  on  we  find  Bucer  and  his  congenial  fellow- 
labourer  Paul  Fagius  the  guests  of  Cranmer. 
Pending  the  commencement  of  their  university 
lectures  at  Cambridge,  they  were  zealously  occupied 
in  rendering  the  sacred  Scriptures  out  of  the 
original  text  into  the  Latin  language.]:  Franzisco 

*  On  the  fall  of  Calais,  5th  January,  1558,  compare,  among 
others,  the  letter  of  Sir  Anthony  Cooke  (from  Strassburg)  to 
Peter  Martyr  (Original Letters,  i.,  p.  139).— TR. 

t  On  the  j;th  July  and  23rd  and  3ist  December,  1548, 
Ochino  wrote,  on  behalf  of  the  Archbishop,  to  urge  upon 
Wolfgang  Musculus  the  duty  of  coming  to  England.  Musculus 
•wrote  back  from  Berne  declining  the  invitation,  "unless  there 
should  not  be  an  opportunity  of  serving  Christ  in  Germany  " 
(Original Letters,  p.  337).  He  remained  at  Berne  until  his 
death  in  1563,  without  being  able  to  return  to  Augsburg.— TR. 

f  Compare  Cranmer,  p.  423  (ii.,  p.  149,  of  the  Ecclesiastical 


366  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

de  Enzinas  (Dryander)  had  likewise  come  to 
England,  on  the  warm  recommendation  of  Melanch- 
thon,  and  soon  afterwards  the  old  intimacy  of  the 
Louvain  days  was  renewed  with  A  Lasco*  The 
Protestant  Spaniard  had  been  compelled  to  lead 
a  restless  life  during  a  period  of  ten  years  ;  he  had 
already  contemplated  retiring  into  Turkey,  to  find 
somewhere  in  that  land  greater  tolerance  than  in 
the  wide  domains  of  imperial  Spain,  f  Shortly 
before  his  departure  for  England  he  had  espoused 
Margaret  Elter  in  Basle — a  choice  on  which  Laski 
heartily  congratulates  him.*  We  also  meet  in 
London  with  two  other  forms  from  the  Continent, 
whose  lives  become  henceforth  intimately  bound  up 
with  Laskts  fate.  First  of  all  John  Utenhove^  a 

History  Society's  edition,  Oxford,  1848):  "  Fagius  entered 
upon  the  evangelical  prophet  Esaias,  and  Bucer  upon  the 
Gospel  of  the  Evangelist  John."  They  were  "  to  give  a  clear, 
plain,  and  succinct  interpretation  of  the  Scripture,  according 
to  the  propriety  of  the  language,"  and  "  illustrate  difficult  and 
obscure  places,  and  reconcile  those  that  seemed  repugnant 
to  one  another."  Strype  relates  this  on  the  authority  of  the 
Historia  Vera  de  Vita,  etc.,  D.  Martini  Bticeri  ct  Pa  nil 
Fagii,  published  at  Strassburg  in  1562.  A  similar  work  was 
that  of  Peter  Martyr,  as  we  see,  e.g.,  from  his  lectures  on  the 
Book  of  Judges,  of  which  the  dedication  bears  date  Zurich, 
22nd  December,  1560. — TR. 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  619. 

•j-  Bohmer,  i.  151. 

J  On  25th  April,  1549,  Bucer  and  Fagius  found  at  Lambeth 
Palace  Dryander  and  Imman.  Tremellius  (who  succeeded 
Fagius  at  Cambridge),  as  also  Peter  Martyr,  his  wife,  and 
Julius  Terentius,  with  several  French  Protestants  {Original 
Letters,  p.  535).  Dryander  was  settled  at  Cambridge  March, 
1549  (Original  Letters,  p.  348),  but  towards  the  end  of  the 
year  in  disappointment  left  England  for  Basle  (p.  463),  where 
he  was  rejoined  by  his  wife  during  the  last  days  of  May,  1550 
(Ibid.,  p.  562).  It  was  already  the  beginning  of  the  end  with 
Enzinas. — TR. 

§  Utenhove  came  over  to  London  or  Canterbury  in  the 
summer  of  this  year,  1548  (Pijper,  Jan  Utenhove,  p.  28). 


IN  ENGLAND.  367 


name  with  which  we  are  already  familiar,  scion 
of  an  ancient  and  honourable  family  in  Ghent,  a 
half-brother  of  that  Charles  whom  A  Lasco  had 
learnt  to  know  and  love  in  the  house  of  Erasmus, 
and  with  whom  he  had  made  the  journey  to  Upper 
Italy.*  John  had  been  early  won  over  to  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel  ;  with  this  change  his  native  land  had 
been  closed  against  him  (from  the  year  1544).! 
Engaged  as  he  is  upon  a  multiplicity  of  journeys, 
his  scarce  discernible  form  is  descried  now  in 
Switzerland,  now  among  the  Strassburgers ;  from 
the  present  moment,  however,  we  see  him  as  a 
most  faithful  companion  in  the  suite  of  Laski.  And 
then,  on  the  warm  recommendation  of  the  citizen  of 
Ghent,  a  call  to  England  was  given  to  Valcrand 
Poullain  >  a  nobleman  of  Lille,  who  had  become 
attached  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  and  taken 
up  the  study  of  theology.  Ochino  had  been  active 
as  a  pastor  among  his  countrymen  in  London,  and 
so  now  was  Poullain  among  those  French  who  had 
quitted  their  native  land  in  order  to  live  agreeably  to 
their  faith  in  the  asylum  readily  opened  to  them  on 
the  banks  of  the  Thames.  On  the  side  of  the  two 
wives,  Enzinas  and  Poullain  were  nearly  connected.^ 
These  are  only  the  more  prominent  names  in  that 
evangelical  brotherhood  whom  the  English  arch- 
bishop had  called  around  him — a  goodly  assemblage 
gathered  out  of  almost  all  lands  :  from  Germany, 
Poland,  Spain,  France,  Belgium,  and  Switzerland  ; 
possessing  in  the  mother-tongue  of  the  learned  a 
convenient  medium  for  the  interchange  of  thought, 

*  Compare  p.  136. 

+  Calendar.  Domestic.,  State  Papers  (London,  1861),  p.  144. 

\  Bohmer,  Bibliotheca  Wiffeniana,  i.,  p.  151. 


368  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

but  in  the  Gospel  the  fair  home-land  in  virtue  of 
which  they  recognised  each  other  as  brothers  and 
of  one  family  in  the  faith.  They  had  almost  all 
left  their  country  on  account  of  their  confession  ; 
many  of  them  were  fugitives  from  the  powerful 
wrath  of  the  Romish  emperor,  here,  however,  in 
the  sanctuary  accorded  them,  ready  to  do  their  best 
in  order  to  impart  to  their  youngest  evangelical 
sister  the  meet  blessing  for  the  baptism  of  fire. 
This  baptism  was  very  soon  to  approach,  after 
hardly  more  than  a  lustrum  :  but  their  blessing  has 
remained,  and  to  the  present  hour  the  characteristic 
mark  of  those  men  from  abroad  is  still  recognisable 
upon  the  Evangelical  Church  of  England,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  her  sacred  delight  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
all  the  world. 

When  A  Lasco  arrived  in  England,  Cranmer  was 
for  the  moment  absent  from  London.  A  Lasco 
awaited  him  at  his  palace,  during  the  first  days 
still  a  little  uncertain  what  he  had  to  expect  from 
the  Archbishop  with  regard  to  the  ordering  of  the 
Church.  "  But  it  is  in  itself  a  great  thing  at  this 
time  to  be  assured  of  an  asylum  where  we  can  live 
ourselves,  together  with  those  whom  the  bond  of 
the  same  Spirit  unites  with  us  in  the  Lord,  in  the 
confession  of  our  faith."*  One  traces  in  these 
earnest  lines  from  England  the  lively  satisfaction  of 
now  standing  in  safety  upon  a  coast  on  which  the 
high-running  surge  of  the  Interim  does  not  beat. 
After  a  few  days  the  Primate  of  England  reached 
home,  and  hospitably  received  the  nephew  of  the 
former  Primate  of  Poland  in  his  residence  at 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  620. 


IN  ENGLAND.  369 


Lambeth.  A  Lasco  remained  his  guest  during  a 
stay  of  nearly  eight  months  in  England,  and  an 
intimate  friendship  soon  sprang  up  between  the  two 
men.  Looking  back  at  the  time  of  their  fellowship, 
Cranmer  afterwards  testifies  to  MelancJitJion  that 
during  all  these  months  he  had  lived  upon  the  most 
familiar  and  loving  terms  with  this  most  excellent 
man  John  a  Lasco*  These  two  distinguished 
persons  possessed  many  intellectual  points  of  contact. 
Once  they  had  been  brought,  in  virtue  of  these 
qualities,  into  intimate  association,  it  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  that  Laski  should  exert  an  influence 
upon  the  Archbishop.  Cranmer  was  indeed  the 
senior  by  ten  years  (born  1489)  ;  his  position,  too, 
in  the  State  and  in  the  Church  far  eclipsed  the  more 
modest  one  of  the  Reformer  of  East  Friesland. 
But  A  Lasco  was  the  man  of  stronger  and  more 
inflexible  character ;  he  stood  more  firmly  rooted 
in  his  evangelical  conviction,  which  he  had  pre- 
served pure,  and  sealed  at  the  heavy  cost  of  banish- 
ment from  his  fatherland  ;  by  merely  human  con- 
siderations he  never  suffered  himself  to  be  influenced, 
free  as  he  was  in  his  Lord  alone  ;  a  man  of 
immovable  courage,  he  lived  out  his  conviction 
without  the  fear  of  men,  careless  in  his  firm 
reliance  upon  his  God,  and  animated  by  an  ard.ent 
impulse  to  seek,  as  in  a  sacred  service  of  the  Lord, 
to  give  effect  to  this  conviction.  Henry  VIII.  would 
not  long  have  hesitated  about  impressing  the  seal 
of  martyrdom  upon  such  a  person.  Moreover,  the 
East  Frisian  Reformer  had,  though,  it  is  true, 

*  Cranmer,  Miscellaneous  Writings  of  (Parker  Society, 
1846),  p.  425  :  "  Johannes  a  Lasco,  vir  optimus,  mecum  hosce 
aliquod  menses  conjunctissime  et  amantissime  vixit." 

24 


370  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

within  a  narrower  compass,  approved  himself  in  a 
wof'k — and  gained  abundant  experience  in  its 
execution — of  a  nature  such  as  that  which  Cranmer 
would  just  then  undertake  for  England.  In  this 
work  the  Archbishop  sought  coadjutors. 

Proofs  are  at  hand  that  the  support  given  by 
Laski  to  the  Primate  was  widely  felt,  within  even 
a  few  months  of  his  coming.  A  letter  from  England 
by  a  Swiss,  Johann  von  Eschen  (Ab  Ulmis,  afterwards 
minister  at  Zurich),  bearing  date  of  i8th  August, 
1548,  relates  that  the  Archbishop  has  become 
sluggish,  and  the  Protestants  are  greatly  disappointed 
in  their  expectations.  As  an  evidence  he  adduces 
the  translation  of  a  Catechism,  which  has  appeared 
under  Cranmer's  name,  wherein  very  perilous  con- 
cessions to  the  Romish  Church  are  to  be  met  with.* 
Somewhat  over  four  months  afterwards  the  same 

*  The  title  of  this  Catechism  is,  A  Short  Instruction  into 
the  Christian  Religion,  for  the  Syngular  Commoditie  and 
Profite  of  Children  and  Young  People.  The  so  called  Bran- 
denburg-Nuremberg- Catechism,  which  Justus  Jonas  translated 
into  Latin  in  1529,  forms  the  basis  of  this  work  of  Cranmer's. 
In  his  reply  to  Gardiner  (September,  1551),  he  was  compelled  to 
explain  that  when  he  said,  "  We  receive  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,"  in  the  administration  of  the  Supper,  the  word 
"  spiritually"  is  to  be  understood.  See  Cranmer's  Answer  to 
a  Crafty  and  Sophistical  Cavillation,  p.  227  and  elsewhere. 
Compare  Hardwick,  Reformation,  4th  edition,  p.  207  seq.; 
Strype's  Cranmer  (Oxford,  1 848),  ii.  p.  47,  note  m.  (The  matter 
is  fully  discussed  in  the  original  work  of  Dalton.)  The  hasty 
and  magisterial  judgment  of  Ab  Ulmis  reads,  "  I  would  have 
you  know  for  certain,  that  this  Thomas  has  fallen  into  so 
heavy  a  slumber,  that  we  entertain  but  a  very  cold  hope 
that  he  will  be  aroused  even  by  your  [Bullinger's]  most 
learned  letter.  For  he  has  lately  published  a  Catechism  in 
which  he  not  only  approved  that  foul  and  sacrilegious  tran- 
substantiation  of  the  Papists  in  the  holy  supper  of  our  Saviour, 
but  all  the  dreams  of  Luther  seem  to  him  sufficiently  well 
grounded,  perspicuous,  and  lucid  "  (Original  Letters,  p. 
381). 


IN  ENGLAND.  371 


writer  joyfully  reports  to  his  friends  at  home  that 
England  is  making  vigorous  steps  in  advance. 
"Thomas  [Cranmer]  himself" — so  the  writer  continues 
— "is  in  a  great  measure  recovered  from  his  dangerous 
lethargy,  by  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  instru- 
mentality of  that  most  upright  and  judicious  man 
Master  John  a  Lasco."*  Other  contemporaries  too 
were  struck  with  the  change  in  Cranmer's  views 
during  this  winter  (i  5  4 8-49). f  English  investigators 
are  inclined  to  attribute  this  remarkable  change  to 
the  influence  of  Dr.  Ridley,  then  Bishop  of  Rochester 
Far  be  it  from  us  to  wish  to  detract  aught,  even 
in  this  respect,  from  the  eminent  merits  of  this 
towering  leader  of  the  Reformation  in  England  ;  but 
so  long  as  actual  facts  are  not  adduced  in  support 
of  this  view,  there  is  surely  a  greater  degree  of  pro- 
bability in  favour  of  the  judgment  that  the  main 
influence  was  exerted  by  A  Lasco  upon  the  Primate 
of  England.  Why  are  we  to  suppose  that  the 
Bishop  of  Rochester  exerted  this  influence  precisely 
in  those  months  during  which  Laski  was  the  daily 
and  intimate  companion  of  the  Archbishop  at  Lam- 
beth ?  J  Many  Englishmen  of  the  present  day 

*  Original  Letters,  p.  383.  The  letter  is  addressed  to 
Bullinger. 

f  Hardwick,  History  of  the  Christian  Church  during  the 
Reformation,  edition  1865,  p.  215.  See  the  remarkable  letter 
of  Traheron  to  Bullinger,  December  31  st,  1548;  Original 
Letters,  p.  323. 

£  From  foreign  parts  also  there  came  letters  urging  the 
lingering  Archbishop  to  greater  zeal.  I  am  disposed  to  assign 
to  this  period  the  letter  of  Calvin  to  Cranmer  (Calvin,  xxiii. 
632)  to  which  no  date  is  affixed ;  the  three  years  there  speci- 
fied are  not  necessarily  to  be  restricted  to  the  time  of  the 
accession  of  Edward  VI.,  and  admit  of  our  taking  the  year 
1545  as  the  time  a  quo.  Compare  Froude,  History  of 
England,  iv.  196  seq. 


372  JOHN  A  LASCO. 

may  be  indisposed  to  recognise  the  labours  of  the 
foreigner  and  their  influence  upon  the  shaping  of 
the  Church  of  their  native  land  ;  and  thence  arises 
the  wish  to  reduce  them  to  very  modest  dimensions  ; 
but  in  those  great  days  of  the  Reformation  they  did 
not  as  yet  apply  the  narrow  limits  of  nationality  to 
the  domain  of  the  Church.  The  revival  of  the  sciences, 
the  study  of  the  learned  languages,  had  enlarged 
their  range  of  vision,  and  opened  to  the  learned  a 
common  intellectual  fatherland  ;  the  frontiers  of 
this  home  domain  were  deepened  and  enlarged  by 
the  Reformation,  which  encompassed  the  most  diverse 
peoples  with  an  intimate  bond  of  brotherhood. 

The  winter  which  A  Lasco  spent  in  the  palace  at 
Lambeth,  at  the  centre  of  the  spiritual  movement, 
was  a  very  important  one  for  the  progress  of  the 
Reformation  in  England.  As  early  as  the  preceding 
spring  a  lively  discussion  had  arisen  with  regard 
to  the  Supper.*  Not  long  before  Laski's  arrival 
Calvin  had  addressed  a  few  letters  to  the  Lord 
Protector,  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  inciting  him  to 
the  reformation  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  had 
just  (25th  July)  dedicated  to  Somerset  his  Com- 
mentary on  the  Epistles  to  Timothy^  In  November 
Parliament  met.  Cranmer  was  able  to  submit  to 
the  judgment  of  the  House  a  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  whereby  the  Latin  prayers  were  to  be 
abolished  in  the  English  Church,  and  the  Church's 
doctrine  laid  down.  "  Parliament  now  discussed 
the  faith  of  England,  and  laymen  decided  on  the 
doctrines  which  the  clergy  were  compelled  to  teach." ^ 

*  Kuyper;  ii.  616. 
t  Calvin,  xiii.  18. 
\  Froude,  iv.  382.  The  earliest  title  of  this  Prayer  Book 


IN  ENGLAND.  373 


The  work  was  the  truit  of  long  and  mature  delibera- 
tions. A  considerable  time  before  this,  a  commis- 
sion of  sixteen  bishops,  supported  by  six  laymen, 
had  been  assembled,  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury 
and  York  at  their  head,  to  submit  the  various 
orders  of  service  in  the  land  to  an  examination,  and 
out  of  these  to  frame  a  new  and  suitable  order  of 
worship.^  The  sittings  were  held  at  Windsor. f 
The  foreign  theologians  took  no  direct  part  in  these 
important  labours  ;  we  have  unfortunately  not  been 
able  to  meet  with  any  document  from  which  to 
infer  whether  and  to  what  extent  our  friend  took  an 
indirect  part  in  these  preliminary  deliberations. 
From  some  hurried  lines  to  Calvin  we  can  only 
infer  that  Laski  was  present  with  Cranmer  at 
Windsor,  although  confined  to  his  bed  with  a  severe 
illness.  J 

Thus  living  constantly  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  Archbishop,  our  Laski  had  abundant  oppor- 
tunity of  mingling  on  terms  of  friendship  and 
intimacy  with  the  leading  men  of  the  evangelical 
party.  With  unfeigned  respect  and  recognition  the 
man  was  received,  of  whom  it  was  known  that 
at  home  he  had  resigned  the  highest  posts  in  the 
Church  for  the  Gospel's  sake,  and  whose  brilliant 
administration  in  East  Fricsland  was  manifest  to 

reads  thus  :  The  Booke  of  the  Common  Prayer  and  Adminis- 
tration of  the  Sacramentes  and  Other  Rites  and  Ceremonies 
of  the  Churche,  after  the  Use  of  the  Churche  of  England. 
Londini  in  officina  Edouardi  Whitchurche.  Cum  firivilegio 
ad  imprimendum  solum.  Anno  dom.  1549,  Mense  Maji. 
Compare  Two  Liturgies  (Cambridge,  1845),  p.  10  seq. 

*  Compare  Burnet,  ii.  98  seq.,  and   iv.  272  seq. 

t  Burnet,  ii.  204. 

%  Kuyper,  ii.  620.  This  editor  has  rightly  corrected  the 
Vomsor  ia  of  the  original  into  Windsorice. 


374  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

all.  When  the  celebrated  Hugh  Latimer  delivered 
his  third  sermon  before  the  young  King,  on  the  22nd 
March,  1549,  he  made  mention  in  it  of  Laski 
also  :  "  Johannes  a  Lasco  was  here,  a  great  learned 
man,  and,  as  they  say,  a  nobleman  in  his  country, 
and  is  gone  his  way  again.  ...  I  would  wish 
such  men  as  he  to  be  in  the  realm,  for  the  realm 
should  prosper  in  receiving  of  them.  '  Who  receiveth 
you  receiveth  Me,'  saith  Christ ;  and  it  should  be 
for  the  King's  honour  to  receive  them  and  keep 
them."*  A  few  names  to  whom  Laski  sends 
salutations  upon  his  return  introduce  us  in  some 
measure  to  the  circle  of  his  English  friends.  The 
letter  is  addressed  to  William  Cecil,  who  at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven  was  made  private  secretary  to  the 
Lord  Protector.  Laski  seems  to  have  held  much 
and  familiar  converse  with  him  ;  his  negotiations  in 
the  interest  of  the  Germanic  Confederation  were 
carried  on  with  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  through  the 
intervention  of  Cranmer  and  Cecil.  \  He  sends  also 
his  salutations  to  Cecil's  wife.  The  young  secretary 
had  already  wedded  as  his  second  wife  Mildred, 
eldest  daughter  of  Sir  Anthony  Cooke.f  In  the 
house  of  Cecil,  Laski  had  also  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Sir  John  CJieke,  Cecil's  brother-in-law  by  the 
first  marriage,  who,  with  Sir  Ant/wny  Cooke,  was 
tutor  to  the  young  King.  Both  of  these  men  were 
warmly  attached  to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation. § 

*  Sermons,  p.  141.  The  sermon  is  among  those  preached 
before  the  King  during  the  Fridays  of  Lent,  1549. 

t  Kuyper,  ii.  621. 

\  Froude,  iv.  344.  Her  younger  sister  Anne  was  the 
mother  of  the  renowned  Francis  Bacon,  Lord  Verulam. 

§  For  some  interesting  letters  of  the  two  men,  though 
belonging  to  subsequent  years,  see  Original  Letters,  pp. 


IN  ENGLAND.  375 


Mention  is  likewise  made  of  Sir  Richard  M orison. 
He  was  just  about  this  time  one  of  the  King's 
visitors,  six  in  number,  who  attended  at  the  Oxford 
disputation  between  Peter  Martyr  and  Dr.  William 
Tresham  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper  (May 
28th,  1549).*  Laski  also  associated  much  with  the 
celebrated  Dr.  William  Turner^  who  had  learnt  to 
esteem  him  at  Emden,  and  had  mainly  contributed 
to  his  call  to  England. 

The  leave  of  absence  granted  to  A  Lasco  had 
expired  in  the  spring  of  1549.  Cranmer,  and  with 
him  the  great  circle  of  friends  gained  in  England, 
pressed  him  to  remain,  and  not  afresh  to  exchange 
the  quiet  haven,  where  so  abundant  a  field  of 
labour  was  opening  to  him,  for  the  storm  outside 
upon  the  rough  swelling  sea.  But  at  present  he 
felt  himself  impelled  with  force  back  to  the  Church 
entrusted  to  his  oversight.  The  hour  of  decision 
was  approaching  ;  it  was  to  find  him  well  equipped 
upon  the  field. 

In  the  middle  of  March  A  Lasco  quitted  London. 
After  an  exceedingly  good  passage,  the  ship  safely 
entered  the  mouth  of  the  Ems,  on  the  third  day 
after  sailing  from  the  English  coast.  His  fellow- 
passenger  was  Count  Mans/eld^  who  was  conducting 
the  negotiations  with  the  Lord  Protector  for  the 
accession  of  England  to  the  Germanic  Confederation. 

139 — 147.  [Seven  original  letters  of  Sir  John  Cheke  are  also 
appended  by  Goodwin  to  his  edition  of  Cheke's  MS.  transla- 
tion of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel  (Cambridge,  1843). — JR.] 

*  Schmidt,  Peter  Martyr,  p.  92 ;  and  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monu- 
ments, vi.  298  seq.  [Bucer  wrote  to  John  Brentz  in  May,  1550, 
expressing  his  dissent  from  Martyr's  teaching  on  this  subject 
(Original  Letters,  p.  544).  This  letter  goes  far  to  explain 
the  subsequent  hostility  towards  the  fugitive  congregations 
on  the  part  of  Brentz. — JR.] 


376  JOHN  A   LASCO. 

It  was  on  his  account  indeed  that  Somerset  pro- 
vided an  able  and  experienced  captain,  who  further 
conveyed  the  Count  from  Emden  to  Bremen.* 

2.  SECOND  RESIDENCE  IN  ENGLAND. 

On  the  1 3th  of  May,  1550,  our  friend  arrived 
again  in  London,  after  an  interval  of  about  a  year 
from  the  time  of  his  quitting  the  English  shore,  f 
The  voyage  was  by  no  means  so  favourable  a  one 
as  the  return  voyage  from  England  in  the  previous 
year.  Thrice  had  the  ship  put  off  from  Hamburg, 
and  thrice  was  it  constrained  to  return,  hardly 
reaching  the  high  sea  before  it  was  driven  by 
terrible  storms  to  make  in  all  haste  for  the  sheltering 
haven.  A  fresh  cause  of  delay  arose  from  an  attack 
of  Laski's  old  trouble  the  ague,  which  thoroughly 
prostrated  him,  and  thus  brought  about  his  involun- 
tary detention  for  a  couple  of  weeks  or  more  at 
Hamburg.  But  this  trouble  was  soon  forgotten  : 
his  arrival  had  been  long  awaited,  and  he  was  now 
received  with  open  arms.  "  His  coming  gave  great 
joy  to  all  godly  persons  ;  "  thus  we  read  in  a  letter 
of  those  days. £  He  once  more  took  up  his  tem- 
porary quarters,  for  the  space  of  six  or  eight  weeks, 

*  Kuyper,  ii.  62-. 

t  Original  Letters,  pp.  187,  560. 

j  Ibid.,  p.  560.  ["  A  Lasco  arrived  in  England  on  the  I3th 
of  May."  In  a  letter  dated  28th  May,  eight  days  later 
than  the  one  from  which  the  above  extract  is  made,  Micronius 
gives  us  the  first  indication  of  A  Lasco's  presence:  "The 
illustrious  lord  A  Lasco  told  me,  four  days  since,  that 
he  had  learned  for  certain  that  the  Spanish  fleet  had  been 
dispersed  and  destroyed  by  a  storm,  and  that  this  circum- 
stance had  detained  the  Emperor  in  Lower  Germany"  (p. 
563).  Micronius  himself  had  come  over  to  England  with 
Hooper  in  May  of  the  previous  year. — TR.] 


IN  ENGLAND.  377 


in  the  hospitable  palace  of  Lambeth,  with  his  friend 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.' 


•:- 


It  is  with  a  keen  sense  of  regret  that  we  lay 
down  the  pen  at  the  point  of  A  Lascds  settlement 
in  England.  We  had  purposed  before  closing  to 
describe  his  ever-memorable  work  in  London  and  to 
trace  the  influence  of  his  Church  Order  upon  the  after- 
history  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Britain,  Germany, 
and  Holland.  The  dimensions  of  the  present  work 
render  a  satisfactory  account  of  these  labours  for 
the  time  being  impossible. 

Hereafter  it  may  be  our  privilege  to  present  to 
the  English  reader,  in  a  volume  of  no  less 
interest,  if  of  somewhat  smaller  compass,  the 
fruits  of  his  matured  experience  in  the  organisation 
of  the  Church  of  the  Foreigners  at  Austin  Friars, 
London,  in  connection  with  which  account  many  other 
noble  forms  will  emerge  from  the  obscurity  of  a 
long-vanished  past.  We  propose  to  relate  the 
history  of  the  dispersion  of  his  beloved  congrega- 
tions on  the  accession  of  Queen  Mary,  and  to  inter- 
weave therewith  a  brief  narrative  of  the  sufferings 
of  many  of  our  own  countrymen,  while  more  par- 
ticularly following  the  course  of  the  fugitive  strangers 

*  In  a  very  interesting  letter  from  Martyr  to  Bullinger, 
dated  Oxford,  ist  June,  1550,  we  read  (after  some  encomiums 
on  Hooper  and  Coverdale),  "  Master  a  Lasco  also  has 
repaired  hither,  since  his  Phrysia  has  admitted  the  Imperial 
Interim  ;  and,  as  I  suspect  (utque  olfacio],  will  be  placed 
over  the  Church  of  the  Germans  in  London,  which  is 
mightily  agreeable  to  me.  He  is  staying  at  present  with  the 
Primate  (apud  D.  Cantuariensem)."  The  original  letter, 
transcribed  from  the  Zurich  MSS.,  was  furnished  by  Burnet 
in  his  Appendix,  as  also  in  Epistolce  Tigurince  (Cantab., 
1848).  English  in  Original  Letters,  p.  483.— TR. 


378  JOHN  A   LA  SCO. 

amidst  their  severe  privations  in  Denmark  and  North 
Germany  and  watching  their  career  until  a  friendly 
asylum  once  more  opens  to  them  in  Emden. 

Such  volume  would  also  embrace  the  history  of 
A  Lasco  and  his  faithful  Utenhove  in  their  labours 
for  the  reformation  of  Poland,  down  to  the  death  of 
the  former  on  the  8th  of  January,  1560.  It  would, 
moreover,  glance  at  the  subsequent  triumph  of  his 
principles  in  that  land  by  the  subscribing  of  the 
Treaty  of  Sendomir  (1570).  Meanwhile  the  con- 
tribution to  his  history,  already  placed  before  the 
reader,  may  suffice  to  embalm  in  loving  esteem  the 
memory  of  one  who  laboured  with  such  precious 
results  on  our  own  shores,  and  who  was  faithful 
unto  death  in  the  service  of  his  Lord  for  the  well- 
being  of  His  Church. 


INDEX. 


ACHILINUS,   Alexander    (d.    1518), 

70. 

Achilles  de  Grassis,  73. 
^Epinus,  Pastor  (d.  1553),  349. 
Agricola,  Rudolph  (d.  1485),  198. 
Albert  of  Mansfeld,  324. 

of  Mayence  (d.  1545),  199. 

of  Prussia  (d.  1568),  52,   269, 

285  n.,  336,  339,  349. 
Aldus,  printer,  140. 
Alexander  VI.,  Borgia  (1492-1503), 

56. 

Ambrogius,  Theseus  (d.  1540),  69. 
Ameibach,  John  (d.  1515).  in. 
Boniface,  son  (d.   1562),   125, 

141,  144,  165. 

Amsdorf,  Nicholas  (d.  1565),  315. 
Anne,  Countess,  224,  247,  286. 
Aportanus,  Pastor,  226,  228,  272. 
Aretino,  Pietro  (d.  1557),  113,  140. 
Ariosto  (d.  1533),  58. 
Aristotle,  70. 
Augsburg,   Confession    of  (1530), 

191. 
Altered  Confession  of  (1540), 

3".32i- 

Diet  of  (1547),  325. 

Interim  (i5th  May,  1548), 326. 

Augustine,  168. 
Averroes  (d.  1198),  71. 

BARBARA,  Queen,  51. 
Bartholomaeus  of  Florence,  39. 
Beatus  Bild,  called  Rhenanus  (d. 

March,  1547),  73,  13°. 
Bembo,  Cardinal  (d.  January,  1547), 

55,  !?«• 

Bernard  of  Lublin,  34. 
Berquin  (d.  1529),  105. 
Beyarts,  Jan  (d.  I543!>»  2I2- 
Boccaccio  (d.  1375),  59,  113. 
Boleslaw,  Duke,  10. 


Boleyn,  Anne,  352. 

Bona,  daughter  of  Sforza,  Duke  of 
Milan  (d.  1557),  4,  153,  178. 

Botzemius,  100. 

Bramius,  Pastor,  248. 

Braniczki,  John,  41,  59. 

Briconnet,  Bishop  (d.  1534),  IO2. 

Brudzewo,  Albert  (tutor  of  Coper- 
nicus), 48. 

Bucer.  Martin  (d.  February,  1551), 
172,  180,  194,  262,  309,  322,  325. 

Bullinger,  Henry  (d.  1575),  183, 
194,  196. 

Buscoducensis,  Nicholas,  348. 

CALLIMACHUS  (d.  1496),  48. 
Calvin  (d.    May,    1564),    107,    169, 

196,  235,  269,  289,  301,  307,  372. 
Carlstadt,  Andrew  (d.   1541),  230, 

284. 

Casalenus,  Chrysostom,  68. 
Casimbrotus,  136,  140. 
Casimir  the  Great  (1333-70),  14,  38. 
Cassander,  George  (d.  1566),  208. 
Catharine  of  Arragon  (d.  1536),  352. 
Cecil,  William,  Lord  Burghley  (d. 

1598),  374- 

Celtes,  Conrad  (d.  1508),  48. 
Charlemagne  (d.  814),  222. 
Charles    V.,    Emperor    (1519-56), 

192,  204,  2 1 8,  241,  247,  318,  324, 

339,  349- 
Charles  of  Gueldres  (d.  1538),  272. 

—  Martel  (d.  741),  224. 
Cheek,  Sir  John  (d.  1557),  374. 
Christopher    of    Oldenburg,    248, 

315,  318,  324,  335. 
Chrysostom,  284. 

Ciolek,  Erasmus,  Bishop  (d.  1522), 
90. 

Stanislas,  Bishop,  17. 

Cirksena,  Edzard  I.,  223. 


380 


INDEX. 


Cirksena,  Edzard  II.  (d.  1528),  223, 

226,  230,  272,  286. 

Enno  I.,  222. 

II.  (d.  September,  1540), 

223,  230,  247,  272. 

Ulric,  223. 

Clement  V.  (1305-14),  69. 

—  VII.,  Julius  de  Medici  (1523- 

34),  33,  174,  352. 
Cochlseus,  John  (d.  1552),  66,  72. 
Contarini  (d.  1542),  235. 
Cooke,  Sir  Anthony  (d.  1576),  374. 
Cracow,  Diet  of  (1523),  92. 
Cranmer,    Archbishop    (d.    March, 

I556).  356,  36o,  368. 
Crespy,     Treaty     of    (September, 

1544),  3i  7  «• 

DANTE  (d.  1321),  58. 

Dlugosz,  47. 

Dorner,  169. 

Dryander.     See  Enzinas. 

Drzewicki,  Archbishop,  177. 

EDWARD  IV.  (1461-83),  352. 
—  VI.  (1547-53),  336,  357. 
Egnatius  (d.  1553),  136,  140. 
Elter,  Margaret,  366. 
Emmius,  Ubbo  (d.  1626),  279. 
Entfelder,  Professor,  285  n.,  338. 
Enzinas,  Franzisco  de  (d.  December, 

1552).  207,  215,  366. 
Erasmus    (d.   July,    1536),    63,    96, 

112,  119,  144,  149,  165,  168,  170, 

190,  356- 

Eric,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  324. 
Eschen,  John  von  (d.  1580),  370. 

FABER     STAPULENSIS     (d.     1537), 

103,  167. 
Fagius,  Paul  (d.  November,   1550), 

365. 

Farel,  William  (d.  1565),  98,  196. 
Farnese,  Cardinal,  317. 

—  Pier  Luigi  (d.  1547),  328. 
Ferdinand  I.  of  Austria   (b.   1503, 

Emperor  (1556-64),  154  n.,  242. 
Ficinus  (d.  1499),  71. 
Francis  I.  (1515-47),  73.  IO7.    137, 

192,  244,  352. 
Fremaut,  Pastor,  279. 
Froben,  printer  (d.  1527),  in,  114, 

119. 


Fryth,  John  (d.  July,  1533),  355. 
Fugger,  banker,  77,  126. 
Funck,  Pastor  (d.  1566), .340. 

GARDINER,  Bishop  (d.  1555),  370  n. 
Giorgione  (d.  1511),  139. 
Glarean,  Henry  (d.  1563),  131. 
Gnapheus,  William  (d.    1568),  338. 
Gonzaga,  Ferrante,  328. 
Gorcka,  Lucas,  87. 
Goswin  van  Halen,  198. 
Granvella  (d.  1586),  235. 
Gregory  VII.  (d.  1085),  225. 
Grimani,  Doge,  140. 
Gritti,  Andrew,  Doge,  140. 

ambassador  (d.  1533),  154  n 

Groot,  Gerhard  (d.  1384),  208. 
Guasto,  Marquis,  244. 

HADRIAN,  bookseller,  197. 

-  VI.  (1522-23),  95,  198. 
Haller,  printer,  42. 
Hardenberg,  Albert  (d.  1574),  198 

215,  218,  238,  307,  316,  327. 
Hedwig,  Queen  (d.  1399),  3. 
Henry  VIII.   (1509-47),   352,  357, 

369- 

Herberstein,  Sigismund,  175. 
Hess,  John,  167. 
Hofmann,  Melchior,  264,  267. 
Holbein  (d.  1543),  112,  125. 
Hosius,  Stanislas  (d.  1579),  1 66. 
Hubmaier,  150. 
Hus,  John  (d.  1415),  19. 
Hutten,  Ulric  von  (d.  August,  1523), 

74,  117,200. 

JOHANNES  DANTISCUS,  138. 
John,  Count,  247,  250,  256. 

of  Brandenburg,  334. 

—  of  Glogau,  43. 
Jordan,  priest,  IO. 
Joris,  David  (d.  1556),  230,  262. 
Julius  II.  (1503-13),  56- 

KNADE,  Jacob,  86. 
Koscielecka,  Anna,  94. 
Koscielecky,  Bishop  (d.  l$l$),  83. 
Krcycki,  Bishop,  91,  134,  144,  157. 

LASCARIS,  John  (d.  1535),  56. 
Laski,  Andrew  (d.  1512),  29,  33. 
Jaroslaw  (d.  1523),  29. 


INDEX. 


Laski,  Jerome  (d.  1541),  37,  93,  133, 
J54,  157,  174,  241,  337. 

Johtj,  Bishop  (d.  1392),  28. 

Baron  (d.  1451),  29. 

Archbishop-    (d.    1531), 

29,  35,  52,  174- 

Stanislas,  37,  137,  174,  328. 

Barbara  (daughter  of  the  Re- 
former), 303. 

Jerome  (son  of  the  Reformer), 

304- 

John  (son  of  the  Reformer), 

304- 

Ludovica  (daughter  of  the  Re- 
former), 303. 
Latimer,  Hugh  (d.  October,  1555), 

374- 

Latomus,  206. 
Lauterwald,  Professor,  340. 
Leczyc,  Synod  of  (1523),  89. 

(1527),  163. 

Lemsius,  Pastor,  295,  343. 
Lenthius,  Hermann,  297,  347. 
LeoX.  (1513-21),  54,  68,  73,  351. 
Lewis  of  Hungary  (d.  1526),  154  n. 
Liudger,  225. 
Loredano,  Doge,  54. 
Lupsetus  (d.  1530),  136. 
Luther  (d.  February,  1546),  55,  59, 
"6,  135,  168,  180,  190,  194,  226, 
269,  282,  295,  310. 

MADRUCCI,  Cardinal,  328. 
Mansfeld,  Count   Volrad  von,  332, 

335,  375- 

Marburg,  conference  at,  193. 
Margaret  of  Austria  (d.  1530),  112. 
Marguerite  de  Valois(d.  1549),  102, 

138. 

Martyr.     See  Vermigli. 
Mary  of  Hungary,  Regent   of  the 

Low    Countries,      '531-55     (d. 

1558),  203. 
Matthiesen,  Jan,  264. 
Maurice,  Elector  (d.  1553),  323. 
Maximilian  I.  (1493-1519),  247. 
Melanchthon  (d.  April,   1560),  172, 

194,  234,  239,  245,  269,  311,  327, 

329,  303- 
Menno,   son    of  Simon  (d.    1559), 

265. 

Merle  d'Aubigne,  147. 
Metsys,  Catharine,  212. 


Michael  Angelo  (d.  1564),  58. 
Micronius,   Martin   (d.    1559),   290, 

376  «. 

Modrzewski,  Frisius,  179. 
Morison,   Sir    Richard    (d.    March, 

1556),  375- 

Munzer,  Thomas  (d.  1525),  150. 
Musurus,  Marcus  (d.  1517),  57. 

NICLAES,  Hendrik,  230. 
Niebuhr,  133. 

OCHINO,  Bernardino  (d.  1564),  360, 

365- 
Oecolampadius,  John  (d.  1530,98, 

127,  149,  195. 

Oporinus,  printer  (d.  1568),  no. 
Osiander,  Andrew  (d.   1552),  337, 

34°,  356. 
Ostrorog,  Vayvode,  20. 

Constantine,  60. 

Stanislas,  52,  54. 


Otho  the  Great  (d.  973),  10. 

of  Brunswick,  334. 

Henry,  Count   Palatine,  317, 

329- 
Ousberghen,  Josse  van,  212. 

PAUL  II.  (1464-71),  48. 

III.,    Farnese  (1534-49),  324, 

328,  353- 

Pauvant  (d.  1525),  105. 
Peace,  Religious  (July,  1532),  191. 
Pellican,    Conrad    (d.    1556;,    128, 

149,  196. 

Petrarch  (d.  1374),  58. 
Petrikow,  Synod  of  (1521),  84. 

Diet  of  (1526),  162. 

Philip  II.  of  Spain  (d.  1598),  331. 

Pirkheimer,  66. 

Plato,  57,  70. 

Platter,  Thomas  (d.  January,  1582), 

109. 

Polentz,  George  of,  337. 
Pomponazzo,     Pietro     (d.     April, 

1524),  55,  68,  71. 
Poullain,  Valerand,  367. 
Prasnicius,  Lawrence,  335. 

QUEIS,  Erhard  von,  337. 

RADBOD,  King,  224. 

25 


382 


INDEX. 


Radziwill,  John,  62. 

Stanislas,  62. 

Rambiewski,  Martin,  77- 
Ranke,  Leopold  von,  235. 
Raphael  (d.  1520),  58. 
Ratisbon,  Colloquy  of  (1541),  235. 
—  Diet  of  (5th  April,  1541),  315. 
Reekamp,  John,  219. 
Rese,  Henry,  229,  295. 
Reublin,  150. 

Reuchlin,  John  (d.  1522),  2O2. 
Ridley,  Bishop  (d.  October,   1555), 

371- 
Rinfon,     French     ambassador     in 

Poland  (d.  1541),  244. 
Rosmers,  Antoinette  van,  211,  216. 

Gudula  van,  211,  217. 

Rovere,  Paul  van,  214. 

SADOLET,  Cardinal  (d.  1547),  171. 
Sbigneus,  Bishop,  17,  20,  47,  179. 
Schartlin,  Sebastian,  323. 
Schats,  Jan  (d.  1543),  212. 
Seymour,  Lady  Jane  (d.  1538),  357. 
Sigismund  I.  (1506-48),  4,  35,  154, 

159,  181. 
Sigismund  Augustus  (1548-72),  313, 

320,  334. 

Slywnicki,  Matthias,  62. 
Smalcalden,  League  of,  191. 
Soliman  the  Magnificent  (d.  1566), 

153,  242. 
Somerset,    Duke    of    (d.    January, 

1552),  335,  358. 
Sommerfeld,  John,  43. 
Speratus,  Paul  (d.  1554),  337,  339. 
Spires,  Diet  of  (1529),  191. 

(1544),  3I7- 

Sta.phileus,  John,  51. 
Staphylus,  Frederic  (d.  1564),  342. 
Sturm,  John  (d.  1589),  172. 
Sylvius,  ^Eneas  (d.  1464),  47,  109. 
Syssinge,  Gertrude,  239. 

TER  WESTEN,  Frederic,  331. 
Theda,  Countess  (d.  1494),  223. 
Thomas  a  Kempis  (d.  1471),  2IO. 
Timann,  Pastor,  348. 
Titian  (d.  1576),  139. 
Tomiczki,  Peter,  Bishop,  87. 
Tonstal,  Bishop  (d.  1559),  135. 


Trent,  Council  of,  317,  326. 

Tresham,  William,  375. 

Turner,     William,      physician     (d. 

1568),  362,  375. 
Tyndale,  William  (d.  1536),  355. 

UKENA,  Foko,  223. 

Ulmis,  John  ab.      See  Eschen. 

Utenhove,  Charles,  136. 

John  (d.  1565),  289,  366. 

Uttenheim,  Bishop,  129. 

VEIT  (or  Vitus)  STOSS,  39. 
Vermigli,  Peter  Martyr  (d.   1562), 

360.  365,  375- 
Viterbo,  Egidius,  52. 

WASSILIJ,  Grand  Duke,  60. 
Wessel,  John  (d.  1489),  198. 
Westphal,     Joachim,     Pastor     (d. 

1574),  124,  349. 
Wied,  Hermann  von  (d.  1552),  314, 

318,  319,  337. 
Willehad  (d.  789),  225. 
Winfried  (d.  755),  225. 
Wingius,  Godfridus,  304. 
Witold,  Grand  Duke,  19. 
Wittenberg  Concord  (May,   1536), 

1 80,  194. 

Wladislaw  Jagiello  (d.  1434),  3,  15. 
Wolsey,  Thomas  (d.  1530),  352. 
Wolski,  Nicholas,  60,  82. 
Worms,    Colloquy   at   (November, 
1540),  235. 

Diet  at  (1545),  317. 

Wyclif,  John  (d.  1384),  354. 

XIMENES,   Cardinal   (d.    1517),    69, 
"5- 

ZAPOLYA,  John  (d.  1540),  154,  173, 
242. 

Stephen,  51. 

Zasius  (d.  1535),  144. 
Zemblack,  Metropolitan,  16. 
Zemen,  Achatius  von,  335. 
Zinzendorf,  Count  (d.  1760),  112. 
Zwingli,    Huldreich     or    Ulric    (d. 

1531),    124,    145,    193,    195,   214, 

284. 


A     000168477     8 


